Our Shepherd Reflects: Why the Church affirms the goodness in other religions and their practices
This paradigm shift came when Christianity moved out of Europe to other parts of the world, having to interface with other rich religions, like Buddhism, Islam and Hinduism The Church sees all men and women as brothers and sisters of the same Heavenly Father, writes Archbishop William Goh.
Scripture Readings: Ephesians 2:12-22; Luke 12:35-38
All of us desire world peace, beginning with our own nation, our community and our family. Without peace, there can be no unity among the peoples of the world. Division in the world is caused by fear, selfishness and injustices. This is further reinforced by the exclusive approach of most religions. Such exclusive claims of religions make believers of other faiths feel alienated and rejected. This causes religious tension, fanaticism and rivalry. That is why we need to promote a more inclusive approach in dealing with other religions.
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Community is a way of life that is lived, not taught
Father Terence Kesavan, studying Catechetics in the US, says young people need mentors that inspire them to grow and live out their Christian life.
If you were to ask me about one of the most important yet lacking aspect of the way our faith is lived out, I would say it is community. A faith has to be lived and grown in a community.
During my time as a seminarian in the Church of Christ the King, it was something I pushed for among the youth groups, because I felt they were too focused on the function of the ministry. So, it is quite ironic, and yet so telling of the problem, that a number of youth spoke about their youth community not being a place to grow in their faith.
Ten years ago, you wouldn’t have heard many people using the word “community”, but now everyone calls it a youth community instead of ministry or group. But do they really know what it means to be community? Or is it just a change of terminology.
Why do some young people fall out with the Church?
Our young people are constantly bombarded by messages contradictory to Christian beliefs and they face challenges everywhere: social media, music, school, friends, family and even within the Church itself.
With all these distractions, some find their faith to be “irrelevant”. Others, who Catholic News spoke to, shared some reasons on why they left their youth communities.
“I lost all sense of community and faith when I saw how my youth community was focusing more on social status than their faith life,” said Nathanel (all names in this story have been changed).