By Maria Emilia Marega
ROME, APRIL 4, 2012 (Zenit.org).- The Pontifical Council for the Laity organized a meeting in Rocca di Papa, Italy, with representatives of the world’s youth ministers, in preparation for the 2013 Rio World Youth Day.
During the meeting, ZENIT spoke with the Archbishop Orani Tempesta of Rio de Janeiro to get his impression of the event.
–ZENIT: Archbishop Tempesta, how would you describe this meeting?
–Archbishop Orani: I think it’s a very important meeting because the objective of the World Youth Days is the animation of Catholic youth, of the youth pastoral, and the fostering of universal unity through the diversity of languages and situations represented at this meeting.
–ZENIT: How is the preparation carried out?
–Archbishop Orani: Representatives of the whole world, both of countries as well as communities, are here to live together and study Madrid’s World Youth Day, to listen and to ask about Rio de Janeiro and to think about the youth pastoral.
–ZENIT: What will happen as a result of this meeting?
–Archbishop Orani: I think it’s a very important moment. I think that from here, both because of the support of Madrid’s World Day and the Rio de Janeiro programming, and the concern of the youth pastoral, great ideas should issue for all the countries that, adapting these ideas, will be able to help much in pastoral work with youth.
–ZENIT: Which were the ideas that most caught people’s attention?
–Archbishop Orani: People heard many good initiatives from the different countries, including countries that have many difficulties in regard to religious liberty. People often think that they don’t have the possibility to work with the pastoral, with the celebrations, but I am seeing how they are able, even in countries of little religious liberty, to bring young people together and devise a program, and this helps us to identify the difficulties, in addition to those we already have: it helps us not to be discouraged and to try at each moment to work in the different pastorals, especially that of youth, which builds the today and tomorrow of society.
–ZENIT: What do you consider the most important thing of this meeting?
–Archbishop Orani: I think that the works and the different concerns that exist in organizing the youth pastoral, with reflections and deepening of the faith are very important. It must be an aim to be pursued, a challenge to be addressed: how to help our young people to deepen their faith and to be men and women disciples and missionaries of Jesus Christ to evangelize.
[Translation by ZENIT]
