A visiting American priest who specialises in young adult ministry has called on Irish parishes to target young adults stuck ''in-between sacraments'' to bring them back to the Church. Fr John Cusick, Director of Young Adult Ministry in the Archdiocese of Chicago, said the Church needs to make young people a priority.
''I think there is a tremendous spiritual hunger out there'', he told The Irish Catholic.
''I think there are two things that the Church needs to do. It must offer the traditions of Catholicism to people who are spiritually hungry; who are curious but have not signed up to the Faith. And it must provide skills, ideas and strategies to help parishes to reach out to that generation.''
''So many people now live in between sacraments - between confirmation and marriage. And the problem is that people are now getting married later so the time between sacraments has extended 10-15 years, so if you are living on the edge of the Church it is very hard to come back. They might baptise their children or send them to a Catholic school, but they are not going to Mass themselves,'' he said.
''If I could offer one piece of advice it would be to create a preferential option for our younger people. When something comes up to involve more people, always give preference to younger people. Welcome them back with open arms without beating them up with rules.
''For example, if a couple want to get married don't ask them where they go to Mass, just ask them are they in love. We need to give young people a reason to come back on Sundays.''
Fr Cusick was in Ireland for a series of workshops on 'Establishing the Young in your parish' at the invitation of Catholic Youth Care and the Office of Youth Evangelisation in Dublin, last week.
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(Source: IC)