Collectively, those gatherings have generated crowds in excess of 15 million people, making World Youth Day the Olympic Games of world religion: the largest regularly held international religious event on the planet.

"World Youth Day" is, of course, one of those charming bits of Catholic vocabulary that endures despite having thoroughly outlived its accuracy.

It was a single day back in 1985, but it's morphed into a week-long jamboree composed of pilgrimage and devotion, catechesis, liturgies and the sacraments, and even Lollapalooza-style pop festivals. (The lineup includes "PriestBand," an all-priest septet associated with the Emmanuel Community, which only performs at World Youth Days.)

"Evangelical Catholicism" is a term being used to capture the Catholic version of a 21st century politics of identity, reflecting the long-term historical transition in the West from Christianity as a culture-shaping majority to Christianity as a subculture, albeit a large and influential one.

I define Evangelical Catholicism in terms of three pillars:

• A strong defence of traditional Catholic identity, meaning attachment to classic markers of Catholic thought (doctrinal orthodoxy) and Catholic practice (liturgical tradition, devotional life, and authority).
• Robust public proclamation of Catholic teaching, with the accent on Catholicism's mission ad extra, transforming the culture in light of the Gospel, rather than ad intra, on internal church reform.
• Faith seen as a matter of personal choice rather than cultural inheritance, which among other things implies that in a highly secular culture, Catholic identity can never be taken for granted. It always has to be proven, defended, and made manifest.

I consciously use the term "Evangelical" to capture all this rather than "conservative," even though I recognise that many people experience what I've just sketched as a conservative impulse. Fundamentally, however, it's about something else: the hunger for identity in a fragmented world.

Historically speaking, Evangelical Catholicism isn't really "conservative," because there's precious little cultural Catholicism these days left to conserve. For the same reason, it's not traditionalist, even though it places a premium upon tradition. If liberals want to dialogue with post-modernity, Evangelicals want to convert it - but neither seeks a return to a status quo ante.

Continue reading John Allen's article on the Big picture at World Youth Day: 'It's the Evangelicals, stupid!'

The Stratford group, mostly aged 17 or 18, was the largest group from Taranaki to attend the World Youth Day. Groups from New Plymouth also attended.

Their journey took them to Paris, Dijon, Taize, Lyon, St Etienne and Conques, places with historic ties to the Catholic orders who sent missionaries to New Zealand. They then visited Loures in the South of France before crossing into Spain to be hosted by Spanish families for five days

The members of the group worked hard for two years. They contributed to their parishes by catering meals, entertaining, visiting the sick, working with the school children and being involved in the church.

They have fundraised by gardening, cleaning, selling sheep manure, firewood and pinecones, doing the Warehouse stock-take, selling sausages and raffles.

Source

• Stratford Press
• Image: NZCBC

Dominic Light and Vincent Phua, both 18, were chosen to join 48 other young people from around the world to meet with Pope Benedict XVI at Plaza de la Independencia before accompanying the Pope through Madrid's Puerta de Alcalá where the Holy Father is being officially received and welcomed to the city. After this, he is riding in the Popemobile to Plaza de Cibeles

Domonic and Vincent are both members of St Francis and All Souls Catholic Parish in Devonport and are travelling with the Glenrowan World Youth Day Pilgrimage Group. The group left Auckland on Friday 5 August and spent four days in Rome before heading to Barcelona, Lourdes and Avila on the way to Madrid.

Around 200 Zealand Catholics gathered in Madrid's Parque del Buen Retiro on Thursday for a ‘Kiwi' gathering, which included Mass. The event began at 3.00pm Wednesday 17 August (1.00am Thursday 18 August New Zealand time).

The gathering was part of the World Youth Day 2011 celebrations taking place in Madrid from 16-21 August. Although described as a ‘day', World Youth Day is in fact a week-long event. It is the world's largest youth event and is this year expected to attract two million pilgrims from around the world.

Six Christchurch pilgrims have been allocated front row seats for the vigil with Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday 20 August. Three are from Villa Maria College, which is sending a pilgrimage group of 24. Of the 200 New Zealand pilgrims in Madrid, 70 are from Christchurch making it the largest New Zealand pilgrimage group. This is despite pilgrims having had their efforts to attend the event disrupted by the February earthquake.

The gathering was been organised by the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference Office for Young People and will include New Zealand songs and prayers. The Office's National Project Co-ordinator, Sr Helen O'Sullivan RNDM, said the gathering will be a highlight for New Zealand pilgrims.

"Around 200 pilgrims have travelled from New Zealand to Madrid, but there are also New Zealanders living in other parts of the world who have come to World Youth Day. The New Zealand gathering is an opportunity to celebrate being together in Madrid for such a special event and to do this in a uniquely Kiwi way".

Key World Youth Day events include the Papal Welcome Ceremony (Thursday 18 August); the Stations of the Cross (Friday 19 August); outdoor Vigil with the Pope (Saturday 20 August) and the Final Mass (Sunday 21 August).

There will also be events held in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch to coincide with World Youth Day. These will be attended by diocesan bishops and reflect the World Youth Day experience.

In Auckland, activities will include Stations of the Cross (Friday 19 August); an all-night vigil (Saturday 20 August) and a pilgrim walk followed by a youth Mass (Sunday 21 August). In Wellington there will be music, drama and a showcase concert (Saturday 20 August).

Christchurch is holding a World Youth Day Rally for students in Years 9-13 (Friday 19 August) and a young adults programme involving a rosary pilgrimage, dinner and dancing with the Beatitudes community (Saturday 20 August). There will also be a Mass for youth and young adults followed by live footage of the World Youth Day Mass in Madrid (Sunday 21 August).

This is the 26^th World Youth Day and continues a tradition started by Pope John Paul II in 1985, which has become the biggest celebration of young people on earth.

While World Youth Day is a Catholic event, the Pope invites any young person who wishes to join the experience, which consists of catechesis (teaching), fellowship, worship and renewal.

In a letter inviting the young New Zealanders to World Youth Day 2011, Pope Benedict XVI said that he often thinks back on the last World Youth Day, held in Sydney in 2008.

"There we had an experience of a great festival of faith in which the Spirit of God was actively at work," he wrote. "Now we are looking forward to the next World Youth Day... I encourage you to take part in this event, which is so important for the Church in Europe and for the universal Church...Your presence renews, rejuvenates and gives new energy to the Church. That is why World Youth Days are a grace, not only for you, but for the entire People of God".

Source

• New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference
• Image: Our Lady of Fatima Parish Meadowbank

"Today, as in every age, there is great reason for despair, and there are many whose lust for power leads them to fool others into believing they have the cure for it," writes Tim Muldoon in the Washington Post

"In making a pilgrimage to WYD, then, we seek a deeper and a greater hope, one that does not fall prey to the silly trading of power from one generation to the next," he continues. "We seek the faces of others who, like us, reach out beyond the limitations of human attempts to create utopias, toward a God whose message of hope is inscribed within our hearts, and whose offer of meaning even amidst suffering is the only satisfaction of our deepest desires."

Read Tim Muldoon's blog at Pathos.com

Image: Pathos.com

Tim Muldoon is a Catholic theologian, author, speaker, and retreat leader specializing in the ways that Church traditions speak to contemporary life. He has written extensively on the themes of young adult spirituality, Ignatian spirituality, theology in postmodernity, sexuality and marriage, and adoption issues.

It was reported yesterday that unions representing Spanish airport ground crew had called strikes to coincide with Pope Benedict XVI's four-day visit to the Spanish capital next week for WYD2011.

Three unions representing 60,000 check-in staff, baggage handlers and other ground workers - CCOO, UGT and USO - said they planned 24-hour strikes for August 18, the day the pope is set to arrive in Madrid, and again on August 26.

However members of the General Workers Union employed by Madrid's Metro subway system are still intending to strike over salary negotiations and cuts to their wages as part of government austerity measures.

The Union leaders told Europa Press they had been forced to take the action due to the "failure to implement salary raises agreed to in a collective agreement for 2011 and the breakdown of collective bargaining."

A spokesman for Madrid Metro, Ignacio Gonzalez Velayos, however promised the subways would operate "normally" during Benedict's visit.

"The Community of Madrid will ensure a minimum of transportation services are available during those days, and of course all those who come to visit the Pope are going to have public transportation and the Metro will be operating completely as normal," he said.

More than one million faithful are expected to flock to the Spanish capital for the Roman Catholic Church's youth festivities.

Sources

• CNA
• The Telegraph
• Expatica
• Image: PHLOG

Fernando Gimenez Barriocanal, World Youth Day's finance manager, reported that "nearly NZ$90 million will come from abroad and will remain in Spain."

The event's organizers are now focused on increasing registration, especially among young people in Spain, by reminding them that a portion of their registration fees will go to a special fund to help young people from poorer countries attend the event.

Gimenez went on to say that 90 percent of the contracts for the events have gone to Spanish companies through a public bidding system.

The World Youth Day office in Madrid has also produced two new videos in order to draw more young Spaniards. The videos were created under the theme: "Some trains pass by only once in life."

WYD 2011 will be held August 16 - 21 in Madrid, Spain.

Sources

• CNA
• Image: WYD2011

Yago de la Cierva, Executive Director of WYD 2011 said the main objective of World Youth Day is for "youth receive a warm welcome in Madrid and spend some unforgettable days in Madrid".

WYD in Spain will also reflect Spain's unique cultural and religious style de la Cierva said.

de la Cierva noted the World Youth Day organising committee has moved from its planning phase and is now focussed on on implementing the plans.

Pakistani pilgrims penalised

Meanwhile hundreds of aspiring Pakistaki WYD pilgrims have been left disappointed by a Spanish government's decision to suspend their visas.

According to the Spanish secretariat-general for World Youth Day, the ban was imposed to avoid an illegal immigrant problem.

"Many people from Pakisan have tried to stay in Europe after past WYD celebrations as illegal immigrants, that's why the Spanish government has suspended the granting of visas," he said.

Azhar Sadiq, a Catholic youth leader, said eight members of his group had registered for World Youth Day, paying 17,000 rupees (NZ$250) each.

The Catholic Church is presently negotiating with the Spanish embassy to give visas to "deserving faithful".

World Youth Day will begin on August 16 and on August 18, Pope Benedict will be welcomed.

Sources

• CNA
• ucanews.com
• WYD

The catechism, a project of the Austrian, German and Swiss bishops' conferences were to be given to participants at World Youth Day Madrid in August this year.

The errors are so significant that the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is setting up a high level working group to compile the errors and fix them.

The first error, allowing for married couples to limit their family by using "contraceptive methods" was corrected for the launch by crossing out the incorrect phrase and including an insert with the correct translation.

A second error concerned the distinction between "active euthanasia" and "passive euthanasia." The book explained that "active euthanasia" isn't condoned by the church because it violates the 5th commandment, not to kill. YouCat goes on to say, "In so-called passive euthanasia someone helps another person in the dying process and thereby obeys the commandment 'Love your neighbor'".

Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, the archbishop of Vienna who spearheaded the book effort, said the original German book did not use the term "euthanasia," but rather the less loaded word "Sterbehilfe," which can either refer to medically assisted suicide or hospice-type care for someone on their deathbed.

While the original German version had been studied and approved by the doctrinal congregation before its publication, the other language editions did not pass through the doctrinal office after they were translated by different publishing houses.

"For each translation we had an agreement with the publisher and we, the Austrian bishops' conference, asked that a bishop who had theological and catechetical expertise act as guarantor of the translation in his language," Cardinal Schonborn said.

Schoenborn said that Venice patriarch Cartinal Agnelo Scola was responsible for the Italian translation.

"As you can see, the German language isn't so easy for everyone," Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi conceded at the end of the press conference.

Lombardi referred to the "misunderstandings" saying "let's go ahead with the understanding that the new editions will, shall we say, be improved, and that it's important that they arrive in time for World Youth Day."

YouCat is first published in 17 languages and a further 13 are planned.

Pope Benedict wrote the preface to the book exhorting people to study the catechism. "This is my heartfelt desire", he said.

Sources

• Herald Online
• Catholic News Service
• The Telegraph