Also, there are about 200 brothers and sisters from Guam who will be attending the 50th Anniversary Rome Pilgrimage in May 5th. We will be meeting the Pope. Many of the brothers and sisters in the new born community of Palau will also be there, and they are excited. We are all excited and looking forward to meeting Pope Francis.
Actually the count is about 300 brothers going. I wish I was one of them. Perhaps next time.
ReplyDeleteGuam Catholic
Wow! 300 brothers going to Rome! 😀
DeleteHow are you guys going to protect the underage youth and children during the trip?
DeleteDear Curious,
DeleteIn my community, their parents are coming with them. My husband and I are also bringing our kids. As parents, we are responsible for their well being. We already turned in our leave forms since last month, and it was approved. We have spoken to the teachers, and our kids will be given work during the trip. The chaperones of the kids are the parents or family members.
Diana, adolescent kids are in the age of discovering the opposite sex. How are you going to protect them from unwanted experiences? We hear there will be there some 10 thousands gathering in one place without any particular background check. This is kind of risky business for adolescents, isn't it?
DeleteDear Curious,
DeleteMy kids are under our custody, so why should my husband and I go through a background check for handling our own kids?
Diana, the risk is not the parents. The risk is the other people. How will you know who are the tens of thousands of people who will be there? How will you know they all will have the good intention? It is not a family vacation where you are in full control because you mad a plan from a to z already. It is a pilgrimage where everything depends on others and you only get what other people give you, right? You should ask blessing from the Archbishop so that you don't encounter hardships during your travel.
DeleteThere is a lot of logistics that should be taken care of when adolescents and young adults make a big trip together to a faraway location. Otherwise there could be whole lot of troubles and unpleasant consequences coming your way. Are you saying your only concern is you family?
Dear Curious,
DeleteThe NCW have gone on Pilgrimages, World Youth Days, and on missions many times, and God has always taken care of us.
God? Are you serious? Why would God get directly involved in your pilgrimage tour? I am sorry, but this sounds irresponsible for me.
DeleteSome technicalities include coeducation in using bathroom, shower, cleaning and washing your clothes. Lodging should be guaranteed as separate and guarded for boys and girls. Age appropriate recreational zones should be set up for different age groups, etc.
Diana, you know that youth counseling is a serious business considering the rate of mental illnesses, depression and suicide among them on Guam. Adolescents get easily hurt both physically and emotionally. You can expect all different kinds of collusion when tens of thousands gather in one limited living space.
How can you just say "God will take care"? How do you think to compel God to act on your behalf if you haven't done all preparation and haven't taken full responsibility? Who is in charge at the top level of this? Pope Francis?
Dear Curious,
DeleteWhen I say that the parents or family members will be the chaperones for the minors, what comes to your mind? Do you honestly think that the NCW is going to allow a minor to have their own hotel room? 🙄 Our kids will be under our supervision. After all, we are the parents. There are multiple and family rooms in the hotels. The NCW are also strict with single adults as well. Even in our annual retreat, single women room only with single women. The same goes for single men. Minors always have an adult of the same gender with them.
Dear curious
DeleteSee you don’t even trust god and if you don’t trust in god then you only trust in the world where the devil roams we in the way trust in god unlike some people like ccog Timmy and a guy that starts with a m and ends with a b
Dear Curious,
DeleteI have been a pilgrimage organizer before. The NCW is the strictest group among all church groups. The organizers stay awake whole nights to make sure the kids are safe. At this point you are creating narratives in yet another attempt to smear the NCW.
You are the very guarantee that we are in a true path to Adult Christianhood in which pilgrimages are a part of. Let me link the letter of St. Diognetus and his description of how a christian lives and who he is in this world.
http://www.vatican.va/spirit/documents/spirit_20010522_diogneto_en.html
Please read that description and you will see that his description of Christianity is an uncanny representation of what the NCW promotes.
Just a few experts for those who are lazy. I will paraphrase just a little. The Christian in the world is like the soul in the body. The world hates him but he doesn't know why. They choose to live in poverty yet they enrich those around them. They share their goods but not their wives. In short it is like the soul in the body. What the soul desires (to be with God and eternal life) the body hates because it goes against the bodies desires for food, shelter, pleasure, comfort. While the body longs to live in eternal life. Which is why the way stresses alms giving, precariousness, abandoning yourself to God, Piligrimages where you do not know what will happen. Always investing in experiences that bring us closer to God. Experiences that put us in a special disposition to be more receptive to the will of God and to receiving graces. Which is why YES the pilgrimage to Rome, even if for the NCW anniversary, is an experience of God. Because the NCW makes it that way for the members. Making it a time of prayer, and openness for both adults and youth to the will of God.
I have seen pilgrimages save marriages, save young adults from drugs, call young adults to religious life etc etc. All of this thanks to meeting the conditions that are explained in the letter of St. Diognetus. For some the pilgrimage might be the first time that they willingly enter into a short time of precariousness and experience the hand of God.
I did not question your intention. But as you say much depends on the organizers on the other end whom you don't know. You only know they are from your church group but no personal acquaintance. You have to evaluate if this situation is sufficiently safe in terms of adolescent kids and young adults.
DeleteYou raise an interesting question about drugs. Unfortunately, many kids become occasional drug users or addicted even among Catholics. How do you save young adults from drugs during a trip? Maybe I don't understand something, but how is pilgrimage related to kicking a bad drug habit?
Bishops praise Christian witness of evangelist Billy Graham
ReplyDeleteProminent Catholics reacted with sadness to Graham’s death, including Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York. In a statement on the archdiocesan website, Dolan wrote that while his family was Catholic, there was a level of respect for Graham’s work in bringing people to Christ.
Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, offered condolences to the Graham family and said that he was praying for the repose of his soul. DiNardo praised Graham for his work spreading the gospel around the country, and said he was thankful for his ministry.
Billy Graham started out as an typical evangelical anti-Catholic and ended up acclaiming St John Paul II as the world’s greatest witness to Christianity. A fine man, a powerful force for good: rest in peace.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/bishops-praise-christian-witness-of-evangelist-billy-graham-58654
Billy Graham was like a pope for good Protestants.
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