U.S. students at Vatican forum stress need for campus ministry

Published: 2004-04-02

ROCCA DI PAPA, Italy (CNS) -- At a Vatican-sponsored forum, U.S. university students stressed the importance of Catholic ministries on college campuses, especially since most Catholic students attend state -- not Catholic -- institutions. Some 300 university students from more than 90 countries and dozens of lay movements and associations attended the eighth International Youth Forum March 31-April 4 in the small town of Rocca Di Papa outside Rome. Most young people attend college between the ages of 18 and 22 and "this is the time when they make decisions for themselves. Most of us have been raised Catholic our whole lives, and many just went through the motions, but when you get to college, it's your choice" to deepen your faith or not, said Katie Pierce. Pierce, who is studying secondary education at the University of Toledo in Ohio, was one of four students selected by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to represent the United States at the forum, sponsored by the Pontifical Council for the Laity.

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