YOUTH

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WORLD YOUTH DAY XV

The official logo of XV WORLD YOUTH DAY 2000

CHINESE CATHOLIC YOUTHS NOT PERMITTED TO LEAVE COUNTRY

Message of Youths Unable to Travel to Rome

ROME, AUGUST 11 (ZENIT.org-FIDES).-

The international agency "Fides" received a message from a group of young Chinese Catholics for the young people who will attend the World Youth Day in Rome. The message is from lay people and priests who work in the "official" Church in northern China. Many of them would have liked to be in Rome for the Youth Day, but have been prevented for bureaucratic and political reasons.

At the end of July, Anthony Liu Bainian, secretary general of the Patriotic Association, said there would be no Chinese delegation attending the Youth Jubilee. In their message to "Fides," the young people from the mainland say they are very sad about this. Nevertheless, they remain united in spirit with the Pope and in the faith of the Catholic Church, as well as opposed to all those who want to keep the Church in China separate from the universal Church.

The message of the Chinese Catholic youth reads as follows: "The 15th World Youth Day will be held in Rome. Once again, the universal Church will hold a Youth Celebration, giving us another great opportunity to take part in this event. However, once again, we young people on mainland China will be unable to share this event with the young Catholics of the rest of the world. This makes us very sad and disappointed. Nevertheless, the Great Jubilee has given us new hope and light. Filled with this hope we, the youth of China, march into the new millennium enlightened by this splendid light. We want to overcome the evils of the past with courage, and live our Christian life in the light of our faith."

OVER 700 KOREANS ATTEND WORLD YOUTH DAY

Some 250 Come from the United States, their Adopted Country

SEOUL, AUGUST 11

610 young Koreans, coming from both East and West, are travelling to Rome to take part in the World Youth Day. About 360 are coming from Korea itself, while 250 are travelling to the Eternal City from the United States, their adopted home country.

In Korea itself, some 4,000 youths prepared for the 15th World Youth Day by taking part in the Great Jubilee 2000 "Christ With Us" Youth Festival, held in Taegu, South Korea, from July 25-27. The young people experienced profound communion with Christ and their companions during the Festival, which was attended by Archbishop Paul Ri of Taegu; Archbishop Giovanni Battista Morandini, the Apostolic Nuncio, who read a message to the youth sent by John Paul II; and several other Korean bishops, including Cardinal Stephen Kim, Archbishop Emeritus of Seoul.

The Cardinal broke with Oriental tradition by engaging in a master-disciple dialogue with his young audience, trained to be "seen but not heard" in class. There was a roar of laughter when someone in the audience asked the Cardinal how can one learn to love. "Well, when I ask myself, 'have you really loved someone?' I'm not sure what to say. It might be the same for you," the Cardinal said, to which there was a thunderous "yes" in reply. "It is not easy to love, but we must not give up. What is the longest journey of our life?" the Cardinal asked. There was no reply. "The journey from head to heart," the Cardinal explained. "Only when we understand how much God loves us can we love as Jesus loves; only then can we say we know how to love," the Cardinal stressed.

The students could not help but wonder where the Cardinal got his strength and courage, but he replied that he, himself, is weak, and that the source is God. He urged the youths to pray always, especially in difficult times. "God will be your strength," he said. The Cardinal then asked the youths about their dreams, and what makes them happy, and wondered if the answer was money alone. "No," the youths replied with conviction. To the Cardinal's question, "What is the theme of this festival? The youths answered forcefully: "Christ with us!" To which the Cardinal responded: "Then look to Christ, imitate Christ .... Dear young friends: open your hearts wide to Christ, be with him and live with him!" The 4,000 youths clapped and cheered Cardinal Kim, and promised to become disciples of Jesus.

753 ISRAELIS, PALESTINIANS, AND JORDANIANS ATTEND WORLD YOUTH DAY

First Massive Holy Land Delegation at a World Youth Day

TEL AVIV, AUGUST 11

Three aircraft left Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport carrying 753 young Christians to Rome for the World Youth Day celebration. The Holy Land delegation includes youths from Israel, Palestine, and Jordan.

The 424 young pilgrims from Israel were accompanied by 5 priests and 3 sisters. 190 young Christians from the Palestinian territories travelled with 8 priests to Rome. The Church in Jordan sent 139 youths with 6 priests and one sister. Wadie Abunassar, spokesman for the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem, which organized the pilgrimage for the 753 lucky youths, said: "this is the largest group yet that the Holy Land has sent to a World Youth gathering."

ARGENTINEAN AND CHILEAN YOUTH THANK POPE FOR PEACE

Pontiff Mediated Beagle Channel Conflict

BUENOS AIRES, AUGUST 11

Waving flags of their countries, some 3,000 Argentinean and 5,000 Chilean youths will thank the Pope for "his intervention in the conflict over the Beagle Channel, which almost degenerated into an absurd war," Bishop Fernando Maria Bargallo of Merlo-Moreno, said. The Bishop, who is responsible at the national level for the pastoral care of youth, explained that the youth of the two countries will express their gratitude during the closing of the World Youth Day, which will be presided over by John Paul II from August 19-20.

The conflict between Argentina and Chile over possession of the Channel almost broke out into war between their military governments in 1978. The dispute was finally resolved peacefully, when John Paul

II ratified Chile's sovereignty over the territory in question.

Groups of Argentine and Chilean youths will be near the altar, so that the symbolic gesture will be seen by the Holy Father and captured by television cameras, which will broadcast the ceremony world-wide.

Bishop Bargallo said he was surprised at the number of Argentinean youths travelling to Rome. In statements to the AICA agency, he admitted: "we thought that fewer would be travelling. In fact, we

did not make it a priority when delineating the objectives of our pastoral program, which was geared to having all the youths live the Jubilee intensely in their own dioceses."

World Youth Day 2000 has awakened more interest among Argentinean youths than previous ones held in Europe. For the Paris Youth Day in 1998, for example, there were 1,700 Argentinean participants.

"Evidently, the fact that it is in Rome, in the context of the Holy Year, is especially forceful, so much so,

SPAIN AND FRANCE SEND LARGEST DELEGATIONS TO WORLD YOUTH DAY

Some 100,000 Spanish Young People Will Be with Pope

MADRID, AUGUST 11

According to estimates of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, some 100,000 young Spaniards between the ages of 17 and 30 will join the more than one million participants in the World Day and Youth Jubilee in Rome.

Many of the Spaniards left in buses on August 9. On their way to Rome, they were received by parishes, and religious movements and congregations in dioceses of Liguria and Piedmont, Italy.

After the Italian representation at the World Youth Day, the most numerous delegations are the Spanish and French. These two countries are followed by Poland, which is sending over 50,000 youths.

CANADIAN DELEGATION TO WORLD YOUTH DAY TO NUMBER 4,000

ROME, AUGUST 11

Many Canadian youth have been on pilgrimage through Italy, the Holy Land, and Europe in preparation for World Youth Day. The 4,000 young pilgrims are now beginning to arrive in Rome.

The Canadian youth represent 30 dioceses and will be accompanied by 15 bishops. According to the Canadian Council of Catholic Bishops, 3 of the Canadian group have been selected to stay with the Holy

Father in Castel Gandolfo, along with 12 other youths from other countries.

BURKINA FASO SENDS 300 YOUTHS TO WORLD DAY

5,000 Youngsters Gather at National Meeting

OUAGADOUGOU, AUGUST 11

"World Youth Day is important for the young Catholics of my country because of their love for the Pope and their confidence in him. He has always shown great concern and understanding for the problems of youth, our daily battles," Denis Ouedraogo said. Denis, who was talking to the international agency "Fides," is national president ofthe Young

Catholics Association of Burkina Faso. His country will send 300 young people to Rome for the World Youth Day, from August 15-20.

"Since the 1997 World Youth Day rally in Paris, we young Catholics in Burkina Faso decided to be more organized in order to live our faith better," Denis continued.

The young leader said that by way of final preparation for WYD 2000, 5,000 youths gathered in Ouagadougou from August 3-5, to prepare together for the celebration of the Youth Jubilee. "They stayed with local families, took part in special catechesis seminars given by several bishops in various parishes; they prayed and listened to music. The event closed on August 6 with a solemn celebration of the Mass." "There was a great spirit of participation," Denis added. Although only 300 youths from Burkina Faso will be in Rome with the Pope, "all of us will be close to his heart," Denis concluded.

Burkina Faso has a population of close to 11 million, of which just over one million are Catholics.

FIRST VIETNAMESE DELEGATION TO WORLD YOUTH DAY

ROME, AUGUST 11 (ZENIT.org).- For the first time, the Catholic Church in Vietnam has sent an official delegation to the World Youth Day. It includes 37 delegates, of whom 27 are youths from 25

Vietnamese dioceses, as well as 2 bishops and 8 priests. The delegation's departure from the country had to be approved by the Religious Affairs Department of the Communist government.

300 YOUTHS FROM COUNTRIES AT WAR ON PILGRIMAGE TOGETHER

ROME, AUGUST 11

Some 300 youths from countries at war arrived in Italy to participate in the August meeting with the Pope. Their trip was made possible thanks to the solidarity fund established by the Italian Committee of the 15th World Youth Day.

The 300 young people come from Sudan, Libya, Kosovo, Yugoslavia (Serbs and Bosnians), Rwanda (Hutus and Tutsis), East Timor, and Colombia. At present they are touring Italy, and being accommodated in various dioceses.