Young German Catholics voice belief in faith, frustration with church

Published: 2004-06-21

ULM, Germany (CNS) -- A year before World Youth Day is to be held in their country, German youths who participated in a Catholic Church assembly said that while they believe in their faith they feel out of touch with many of the church's traditions. At one youth discussion group, participants expressed frustration with church services that many said were "stuffy" and with church committees that were not open to new ideas. "Everything's moving on; only the church remains stuck in one place," said one young woman. A group of young people from the small Bavarian town of Ottobeuren said they wanted the church to give them the space to explore issues. Juliane Haubner and Sarah Schwagerle, both 17, said they no longer felt a connection with church services. They said they wanted the church to hold services that would appeal to the young and old. One in five of the 25,000 registrants at the June 16-20 church assembly, or Katholikentag, were under age 18, and young people explored the stands and kiosks of information that featured topics as diverse as child prostitution in the Third World to mixing a nonalcoholic "peace cocktail" to painting an image of God.

Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .