Archbishop of Sydney

Young Adults

By + Cardinal George Pell
Archbishop of Sydney
15 May 2005

Parents love talking about their children, at least until they are teenagers.  Whole families delight in a birth.  Those children lucky enough to have loving grandparents in regular contact are doubly blessed.

I now belong to the generation of grandparents and as we grow old we can be tempted to be jealous of the young generation with their energy and enthusiasm and to be critical.  This is generally a mistake.

The role of grandparents is not to be judgemental as that task belongs to mother and father with their children.  In fact one of the common misunderstandings in today’s Christianity is to look on God as a remote and kindly grandfather rather than a loving father who places obligations on us and will evaluate our performance.  But that is another story.

It is also a mistake to idealize young people, because they are of the same flesh and blood as ourselves and under greater hostile pressures.  The opportunities and prizes are greater today but so are the penalties for failure.  Look at the huge percentage of young men among the homeless, often damaged by drugs.

Generations differ from one another, but often the changes are less than they are painted.  When circumstances change e.g. as in wartime or when television is introduced the young are more affected, while there is always an element of rebellion and differentiation as children strive, often with limited success, to be different from their parents.  Good young people try not to repeat their parents’ mistakes, while those who are badly wounded when young are often trapped in the cycle, condemned to repeat the sins of their mothers and fathers.

I suspect that the good young adults of today in Australia are better than any such group since the Second World War, but I also suspect that a higher percentage has come to grief.  The increase in marriage breakdown has caused suffering and damage not only among the spouses but also in their children.

A couple of recent events in young Catholic Sydney have been very encouraging.  They are clear signs of hope for the future.

A group of young graduates and university students organised a high class festival of the arts “Carnivale Christi” at St. Mary’s Cathedral.  Their aim was “to seek the face of Christ through the arts”.

The centrepiece was a production of T.S. Eliot’s play “Murder in the Cathedral” recounting the clash between King Henry II of England and St. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury.  There was an art display, films, recitals.  5000 people attended something or other.  It was a great success.

Today is Pentecost Sunday and as usual I wrote a letter for our parishes.  Two groups of young adults, one of school leaders and the other of young adults from the parishes helped prepare what I had to say.  Their willingness to attend, understanding of the issues and seriousness were indispensable.