YCW Collaboration With Caritas Salford

Last month, members of the YCW National Team met with representatives from Caritas Salford to help support a range of Task and Finish Groups. 

The groups covered topics that had been identified earlier in the year by a diverse group of charities and local parish representatives. They included: our role in advocacy - such as on mental health and justice & peace - and how we can better represent and connect with young people.

The YCW were asked to help share our joint missions around advocacy and young people, including a discussion about the SEE, JUDGE and ACT method, the art of accompaniment and leadership building programme.

Marc Besford, National Training and Development Worker, attended the groups  and shared his thoughts on the projects: "This was a fantastic opportunity to help support local efforts across Salford Diocese. We have our HQ based here and a growing number of groups, so to be able to work even closer and share what the YCW does is something I really welcome."

Sandbach YCW IMPACT Group Raises Money For Refugee Sponsorship Plan

Last month, the Sandbach YCW IMPACT Group organised an incredibly successful coffee morning in aid of their Parish Refugee Sponsorship scheme.

The Group have been raising money since last year after they initiated the idea of hosting refugees in the parish. Their efforts were the result of following the SEE, JUDGE and ACT method within their group discussions after deciding to explore the topic.

It also followed Pope Francis' call in 2015 that: ‘"Every parish, every religious community, every monastery, every sanctuary of Europe, take in one family".

The coffee morning raised a total of over £1400. Some of this was a contribution by Barclays Bank who match humanitarian donations pound for pound.

As well as this, IMPACT leader Rebecca and her dad, Neil, organise a list for individual donations and house furnishing as part of the project to host a family.

Kate Wilkinson, National President of the YCW in England and Wales, congratulated the Sandbach Group saying: "This is a fantastic example of young people showing their ability to lead and change the world for the better. Their passion and commitment for this project is an inspiration. Well done to all of the parish for supporting them, especially their Parish Priest Fr Michael Morton."

YCW Attends International Conference On The 3rd Anniversary Of Laudato Si'

Nearly three years after the publication of the encyclical Laudato Si' - On Care For Our Common Home - some of Pope Francis' prophetic words are continuing to ring in our ears. In Laudato Si', the Pope asked: "What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to the children who are now growing up?"

On the 5th & 6th July, the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development organised an International conference held in the Paul VI Hall, Vatican City, to reflect on what has happened to the environment during the last three years and how to plan for the future.

Marc Besford from YCW England and Wales represented the International Team of the YCW at this event.

During the two days, participants were reminded of the urgency of dealing with climate change, including the need to adopt carbon-neutral lifestyles and seriously invest in non-carbon energy technologies, in order to keep the global average increase in temperature below the 2 degrees celsius which was agreed at COP 21 in Paris in 2015. 

The conference followed the See-Judge-Act methodology, which is central to the YCW. It attempted to look at the challenges in the area of justice and the environment in a holistic way, so that we could hear "both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor" (LS, 49).

Some of the speakers focused on the crisis in food production, especially for the poor. Others called attention to the plight of migrants and refugees and the lack of understanding and empathy among those living in rich countries.

The conference also had 4 parallel groups focusing on areas for Climate Change, Serving Our Common Home, Churches and Religions and Indigenous and Young People.  

The Youth & Indigenous group came up with five areas for discussion at both the Synod for Youth in October 2018 and the Synod on the Amazon 2019: Formation for both young people and adults; participation of young people; integrity; inter-generational solidarity and urgency.

Young people didn’t just want to sit in a  room and talk about issues they want to tackle them head on.

Pope Francis received participants at the conference in an audience in the Sala Clementina on Friday.

In his remarks to the group, Pope Francis said: “Your presence here is a sign of your commitment to take concrete steps to save the planet and the life it sustains, inspired by the Encyclical’s assumption that ‘everything is connected’. That principle lies at the heart of an integral ecology.”

Pope Francis noted the increasingly accurate assessments of the scientific community concerning the environment. “There is a real danger that we will leave future generations only rubble, deserts, and refuse” but he expressed his hope that concern for the state of our common home would be translated into concrete actions to preserve the environment. In particular, he called on governments to honour their commitments to the 2015 Paris Agreement “in order to avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis.”

The COP24 Summit, he said, “could prove a milestone on the path set out” by the Agreement. He also mentioned the upcoming Global Climate Action Summit, taking place in San Francisco in September, while urging the support of “citizens’ pressure groups” to provide support. In addition, he said, financial institutions also “have an important role to play, as part both of the problem and its solution.”

“All of these actions,” Pope Francis said, “presuppose a transformation on a deeper level, namely a change of hearts and minds.” He reiterated Pope St John Paul’s calls for an “ecological conversion,” and emphasised the role of religions, and especially Christianity, in working to that end. Finally, the Pope stressed the importance of making space for young people and indigenous peoples in efforts “to foster an integral ecology.”

Young people are at the centre of the upcoming Synod of Bishops, set for October of this year.

In his conclusion, Pope Francis expressed his gratitude for the efforts of participants “in the service of care for creation and a better future for our children and grandchildren.” Pope Francis encouraged them, saying: “Please continue to work for ‘the radical change which present circumstances require.’ For ‘injustice is not invincible.’”

After which all the participants had the opportunity to meet the Pope and shake his hand.

YCW Visit to Cardinal Hume School and Sixth Form

During a recent visit to the North East region the National Team visited Cardinal Hume School and Sixth Form to discuss the work of the Group there.

The team spoke with Damian McCann, the Head of Catholic Ethos is the school and his Deputy Lisa McBride about how the YCW can do more to help develop the leadership skills of young people at the school.

This involved looking at some of the new YCW resources and how these can help develop better use of the SEE, JUDGE and ACT method. The method is important to the YCW because it encourages the young people to deepen their understanding of the issues in their reality, reflect of the truth of the Gospel within that and then take authentic Christian action in response.

At Cardinal Hume, the Group have been very active in supporting their local foodbank, including raising awareness of it and fundraising efforts.

Marc Besford, National Training and Development Worker, said in response to the visit: "The Cardinal Hume Group are a great example of how the development of a Catholic ethos in the school can be built around the young people becoming leaders."

Diocesan Faith in Action Day Attended By YCW

Earlier this month the YCW were invited to speak at Northampton Diocese's second annual "Schools Faith in Action Day" at St Paul’s, Milton Keynes.

60 Year Ten students, representing half of the High Schools in the Diocese, attended the day alongside Bishop Peter Doyle.

The day began with a Q&A session with Bishop Peter, which allowed the young people the opportunity to question him on issues such as as the importance of prayer, how he puts his faith into action, and the role of women in the Church.

Following this, a series of workshops gave the students a chance to delve deeper into a range of issues, one of which was about the dignity of work - organised by the YCW. The focus of this workshop was the call to all young people to become leaders, whether that is amongst friends and peers or in the wider community and world.

It also included the chance for the young people to explore our current National Campaign on young people and mental health - MIND! The Gap. Discussions were held around how this important issue could be used alongside the YCW Method to develop the leadership qualities of young people.

Ben Sinclair, who is National Secretary of the YCW and attended the day on behalf of the YCW with former National President Phil Callaghan, congratulated the organisers of the day, saying: "I was really impressed with the Faith in Action Day and want to thank the organisers for inviting us again to it. The young people we spoke to were incredibly enthusiastic about the challenge of taking authentic Christian action in response to the needs of our world."

New Reports Raise Issue of Young People and Loneliness

Two recent reports have highlighted the growing issue of concern around young people and loneliness.

One report from the Office for National Statistics found that young adults are more likely to feel lonely than older age groups. It found that almost 10% of people aged 16-24 were "always or often" lonely - the highest proportion of any age group.

This was more than three times higher than people aged 65 and over.

Loneliness was linked to a lack of permanence or sense of belonging - such as young renters who felt few connections to their local community.

There were other themes that emerged - illness and unemployment made loneliness much more likely. Carers were more vulnerable to loneliness and to be cut off from friends.

A second report, this one by Childline, saw a 14% rise in the number of children contacting the charity about loneliness, with nearly 80% of these sessions going to girls. Some said watching their friends socialise without them on social media made them feel increasingly isolated.

Cal Strode, of the Mental Health Foundation, said that loneliness among young people could be driven by social media and the "digital world" - "Teens can have thousands of friends online and yet feel unsupported and isolated. Technology, including social media, could be exacerbating social isolation".

The YCW's current National Campaign is focusing on issues around mental health and young people and our recent SEE Stage Survey found that loneliness was repeatedly raised as a factor in poor mental health.

In response to this, our upcoming Adult Companion and Chaplain Training Day will have a guest speaker talking about loneliness and how our faith can help us respond to it.