Throughout 2017/18 the Church is called by Pope Francis for the Synod, and the Australian Bishops for the Year of Youth, to go out to the peripheries and be authentic listeners with young people. This is our greatest opportunity and our greatest challenge.
Analysis
In his writing, Pope Francis calls us to the geographical and existential peripherals. So what does this look like locally? A great way to get an understanding of your local community is by reviewing statistical information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the National Church Life Survey, both facilitated every 5 years. A one stop shop for local Catholic communities is the ACBC Pastoral Research Office (PRO). The PRO website contains geographical parish profiles from across Australia and many other research project materials including ‘What makes people feel they belong’, ‘What mass attendees believe’, ‘Catholics who have ceased attending mass’ and much more. Visit (http://pro.catholic.org.au)
Contacts, Communities and Organisations
When engaging young people, we cannot be limited to those who only work directly with young people in the Church. The whole Church and broader community are invited to engage in the General Synod and Year of Youth. Following are a list of contacts, communities and organisation connected with Church who may be able to assist in reaching beyond our regular limitations.
| Parish community |
Various groups |
| Catholic Schools |
Secondary schools with Yr 11-12 students Teachers in all schools within the target age group Associations, e.g. Parents and Friends, etc |
| State School Chaplaincy networks |
Secondary schools with Yr 11-12 students Teachers in all schools within the target age group |
| Universities & Tertiary institutes |
Catholic - Notre Dame, ACU, BBI, Campion etc State and secular institutes Chaplaincy staff/teams |
| Catholic Social Services Australia e.g. Centacare / Catholic Care |
Families, vulnerable youth, outreach programs, etc |
| Catholic Healthcare |
Staff, e.g. young nurses within the target age group Mental Health Services Drug and Alcohol program staff and participants |
| Vocations Offices & Seminaries |
|
| Indigenous Youth & Communities |
|
| Ethnic Groups |
Migrants, ethnic chaplains and communities Refugees and ‘Friends of Refugee’ groups |
| Social Services and Outreach Organisations |
St Vincent De Paul, Marist Youth Care, YourTown (previously Boystown) including Kid’s Helpline, etc, Life Line, etc |
| Religious Orders and Communities in Australia |
Youth Programs – Ministry and outreach services Family Ministries Spiritual Directors |
| Movements, Ecclesial Communities, Organisations | Focused on evangelisation, community, ministries, family, etc |
| Diocesan and local ministries | Prison chaplaincy – juvenile detention, Disability |
| Mission Agencies, Services and their networks |
Caritas, Catholic Mission, Catholic Earthcare, etc |
| Diocesan Communications Directors and Agency Communications Directors |
Invest time in your local community to identify contacts in these areas and other not listed or unique to your area which can assist in reaching out during this time.