In November of 2009 I went to my first ever National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC). I trekked with a group of high schoolers from Newark, Del., to Kansas City. There were over than 20,000 teenagers there, more than could fit in the snazzy, new Sprint Center.
The conference combines engaging speakers, Masses, and concerts in the large group of 20,000ish, with the chance to breakout for smaller workshops, concerts, adoration, confession, comedy shows, exhibitors’ stations, etc. The breakout sessions cover a wide spectrum of topics: peer pressure, sexuality, social justice, how to pray, and so on. There are concurrent formation sessions for youth ministers.
The high schoolers loved the weekend. Everyone left the experience “on fire” with their Catholic faith. They went home wishing that their experience of church and youth group in Delaware was as vibrant as it was in Kansas City.
Because NCYC is such a huge event, the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministers (NFCYM, the sponsoring organization) books blocks of hotels for youth groups over a year in advance.
This year, NCYC is hosted by the Diocese of Indianapolis. The Hyatt in Indianapolis is one of the hotels with rooms reserved for NCYC participants. It makes sense that the Hyatt was chosen; it’s a nice hotel in close proximity to the event, and NCYC needs all the rooms they can get.
No doubt NFCYM didn’t realize when making arrangements with the Hyatt that the hotel fails to uphold Catholic teaching about the dignity of work and the rights of workers.
Archbishop Buechlein of Indianapolis wrote a clear letter to the General Manager of Hyatt Regency Indianapolis about how the treatment of Hyatt employees violates Church Teaching.
His basic argument is that the respect for the dignity of the human person animates the Church’s teaching on the rights to a just wage, to a healthy working environment, and to form unions, and that the way the Hyatt treats its workers violates those principles.
The Catholic Organizing Committee in Indianapolis has begun petitioning NFCYM and particular dioceses who are attending NCYC to stay someplace other than the Hyatt.
NFCYM might not want touch this thing with a 10-foot pole. It’s messy and political and could blow up. But as the event draws nearer, NFCYM is sure to hear, if it hasn’t already, that the Catholic faith stands up to this kind of injustice, and that it’s morally wrong to stay at the Hyatt.
It seems to me that this is not only a justice issue— it’s also a ministry issue. If we fail to say something to the youth who attend this conference, then I think we’ve not only committed an injustice, but we’ve failed at good ministry and catechesis.
Choosing not to stay at the Hyatt and doing ministry around why our Catholic faith informs that decision is an essential teachable moment. Youth ministers taking teenagers to the conference can teach them about the Church’s beliefs about the dignity of work and workers. Here’s a sketch of a youth ministry session that a youth minister could use to catechize around the decision not to stay at the Hyatt in Indianapolis.
I work in young adult ministry out of Camden, NJ. I hear repeated complaints about how the Catholic Church is out of touch with daily life. This is an opportunity to put faith in dialogue with life and discuss what the Church teaches about decisions that affect the daily lives of many.
A youth minister that decides to stay in the Hyatt during NCYC is taking a big risk. Young people (like all people) seek authenticity. I hear time after time from peers and teenagers that they want nothing to do with Catholics because they preach one thing and do another.
Imagine the teenager who stays at Hyatt with their youth group and then hears that the Catholic Church says it’s unacceptable to treat workers the way that Hyatt workers are being treated. What’s the message to this young person? That we don’t take our faith seriously and aren’t really committed to what we say we’re about?
I think we also have to give teenagers more credit. Teenagers at the conference will be commissioned by NCYC speakers to take live out their faith in all arenas and to care for the most vulnerable in society. If we believe that the teenagers will listen to this call, then we should be ready for those teenagers who are staying at the Hyatt to ask their youth ministers what they’re doing there.
From the “Surveys I Wish I Could Conduct” department: Poll every self-identifying American Catholic aged 18-35. Ask them to enumerate the Catholic Church’s five most important teachings. I know folks like Christian Smith have done neat longitudinal studies with American millennials across diverse religious backgrounds to look at faith trends in the generation. But I just want Catholics, and I want the Top 5.
So, for the comments section:
1) Does something like this already exist? Any Catholic stat nerds out there who could point the way?
2) What do you think the Top 5 would be for the generation?
3) What are your own Top 5?
I’ll chip in my own answers to (2) and (3) in a few days. I’m interested in the implications the results would have for the church; what they’d tell us about our formational efforts, including areas where we’re good and areas that need improvement; and what they’d say about this generation of Catholics at large. We might not be able to conduct a study, but I was an English major anyway, so let’s toss around some anecdotes and conjectures.
UPDATE (2/16/11): Before I take a crack at my answers, I thought I’d give a bit of background. The question emerges from my work in professional catechetical ministry the past 2.5 years. I’m afraid millennial Catholics’ understanding of the central teachings of the faith is generally impoverished. There’s most definitely plenty of blame to go around there, but I’m not as interested in that game as in learning where we stand and how we could improve our strategies and reinvigorate the message.
Question 2:
1) Abortion is wrong.
2) Sex before marriage is wrong.
3) Gay marriage is wrong.
4) Go to Mass every Sunday.
5) Christianity is primarily about being a good person.
These are clearly glib and overly simplistic, but I think that’s what it often boils down to.
Hung out with S. Schneck a while back, and he is a total rockstar. Check him on NPR today on the Ryan budget and CST. npr.org/2012/04/16/150…1 month ago
From the “Surveys I Wish I Could Conduct” department: Poll every self-identifying American Catholic aged 18-35. Ask them to enumerate the Catholic Church’s five most important teachings. I know folks like Christian Smith have done neat longitudinal studies with American millennials across diverse religious backgrounds to look at faith trends in the generation. But I just want Catholics, and I want the Top 5.
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