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February 7, 2002 Church Must Do a Better Job of Affirming What’s Distinctive About Being Catholic / Young Adult Population Positive But Show Signs of Insubstantial Awareness Washington DC ----- A midwinter FADICA symposium that probed new research on some twenty million young adult Catholics in their twenties and thirties, found that much more needs to be done to help this population deepen its understanding of Catholicism. The gathering held in Naples, Florida (January 25, 2002) and attended by over eighty foundation representatives, revolved around a book by four researchers entitled: Young Adult Catholics: Religion in A Culture of Choice (University of Notre Dame Press). Dr. William Dinges and Sr. Mary Johnson, two of the coauthors of the book, told the FADICA audience that most young adults like being Catholic, however, their knowledge and experience of Catholicism among young adults as a tight-knit culture are limited. For many of them, they said, religious identity is weak. Dr. Dinges and Sr. Johnson agreed that stressing three dimensions of church life - the Mass and sacraments, the struggle for justice and peace, and the centrality of community and the common good - would be good places to help build a stronger image of themselves as church members. The two scholars took hope in the finding that nearly two thirds of young adults were attending mass either regularly or from six to a dozen times per year, while only 15% of young adults considered themselves non-church attending Catholics. Also addressing FADICA’s foundations were researchers from the Center for Applied Research (CARA) at Georgetown University. Sr. Mary Bendyna, RSM, of CARA called for strengthening a sense of welcome to young adults, offering good liturgy, opportunities for volunteer service and for religious education. Dr. Bryan Froehle of CARA urged church leaders to focus on the often difficult transition young adults face when they graduate from college and are looking for a sense of welcome in parishes in large urban areas that are new to them. Dr. Christopher Coble of the Lilly Endowment underscored the importance of church-sponsored colleges and universities reaching their students as they are searching for direction in their life. How can these institutions help nourish the next generation of Christian leaders, he asked. The Endowment has launched a $100 million grants program helping forty-eight church-sponsored institutions of higher learning to work intensively with their students to explore the faith dimensions of their career choices. Symposium speakers also included: Bishop William B. Friend, Diocese of Shreveport, Elizabeth Marquardt, Institute for American Values, Michelle Miller, National Catholic Young Adult Ministry Association, Dr. Mary Gautier, CARA, and Rev. J. Bryan Hehir, President of Catholic Charities USA. The proceedings of this FADICA conference will be available in March. |