Watch ‘Lost?’
February 14, 2011, 2:57 pm
Posted by Grant Gallicho
Allow me to name an awareness I just had. The Fordham Center on Religion and Culture has just posted the videos from their two-day conference on twenty-something Catholics. Don’t miss our own Matthew Boudway–and his panel’s Q&A session.
I hope this version is not seven years long with an unsatisfying ending!
Grant: it’s’ “LOST?” Voice goes up at the end.
Oops.
Matthew, you look no more than 28. But a wise, judicious 28.
As someone mentioned on another occasion there were few twenty somethings at the conference. I like the idea that two twenty somethings said, that the pastor should make his welcome to young people more expressive with a definite place for them. When this subject comes up it is frequently expressed that there has to be a better catechesis. I agree with that in principle and probably disagree with the method of catechesis. Catechesis (and pastors) should above all offer joyful hope relevant to one’s life. The catechist should center around the Eucharist as the time when the people of God join together to celebrate their lives which embraces Christ Crucified in the hope of joyful resurrection. Those at the conference seemed to have missed this. Tom Beaud0in did ask for specific rather than general complaints. I did not watch all the videos but the observations I have read about the conference are not encouraging. Benziger has developed a solid lesson plan which is well designed to proclaim the salient truths to young people. I suspect that too many catechists teach canon law rather than the beatitudes. Of those who attend church, too many attend because of obligation rather than anticipation. We need better catechists and pastors. http://www.christjesustheway.com/program/cjtw/index.html
As I wrote. I haven’t listened to all the videos. Maybe someone can point out to me the effectiveness of this conference. Professor Beaudoin seemed to have his doubts. http://www.americamagazine.org/blog/entry.cfm?entry_id=3852
Bill! Bill! Don’t believe everything you read in the media; there were actually more 20 somethings in the audience than I expected; And Tom Beaudoin always has his doubts, he expressed them as a moderator at the conference. He must be a really good Catholic!
It was also pointed out at the conference that there weren’t enough African-Americans, enough Latinos, enough people of color, enough twenty-somethings, enough bishops, etc. So when a conference is free and open to the public, widely advertised and had a free lunch!!! you have to ask whether everyone who wasn’t among the 600 had better things to do that day.
Mathew Boudway on friendship was excellent.
That being said, regarding the segment on the known and unknown, when someone dismisses the wisdom that can be found in respecting purity in conduct within a relationship and equates such wisdom to a lecture on how to floss one’s teeth, it is no wonder that so many have become lost. One should not be surprised if some toothless souls have made it to Heaven, as flossing is not one of the requirements, to begin with.
Peggy, could you give me some specific points where the conference was helpful, relevant or effective. If you can remotely approach your fine reporting on Israel, it would be immensely helpful………..
Bill: Watch the interaction between Davidson and Putnam in the Friday session; optimist v. not so optimistic about Catholics.
Watch David Campbell in Session 1 discussing what he and Putnam report in their volume, “American Grace,” about what puts off 20 somethings. And Carmen Cervantes in the same session about the difference among immigrant Hispanic 20 somethings and their American old immigrant counterparts.
I am editing the transcripts and they should be up soon. Reading these reminds me how complex the subject actually is.
There were clusters of 20-somethings in the audience who gave me the impression, in passing, that they were learning something about themselves and their peers.
My wife and I had a good chuckle when we heard about this conference. Our two twenty-somethings attended Mass faithfully when they were in their teens. Then they went to Fordham and now they don’t attend Mass.
FG: Some data please: Did they attend Mass while at Fordham? Did the attend Mass in high school? Where do they live now?
Frank Gibbons is definitely on to something. When I attended the Voice of the Faithful conference a couple of years ago Fordham had a few of its students give their ideas about the abuse crisis. The students seemed more amazed that some older Catholics would be upset about. More exactly Catholic practice was not something they seemed to be into. So the question seems to me; how does a Catholic University challenge its students to get involved with the message of Jesus without getting into the empire promotion coming from Rome?
Matthew, are you planning on writing this up? I think the idea of “Practicing Catholic, Practicing Friend,” is really intriguing.
Cathy,
Yes, a version of it will appear as a Last Word in the magazine.
Colleen Carroll Cambell, was also excellent.
Post hoc ergo propter hoc much, Frank? And Bill, give me a break. You think he’s on to something because a few Fordham students didn’t meet your standards at a VOTF conference five years ago? I graduated from Fordham, which is where I learned to love the Mass.
In response to the question of the attendance of 20-something’s at the conference….I am a current Junior at Fordham and a concentrator in the Francis and Ann Curran Center for American Catholic Studies. I attended the conference as a volunteer worker with the Curran Center, and I’d just like to point out that I assume the “cluster of 20-somethings” in the audience were actually us – the student workers and volunteers. I personally didn’t see any other younger audience members in attendance who were not working at the conference as a part of the Curran Center.
I think this point is an important one to make because, while I certainly did appreciate and take away a great deal of important insight from the conference, I was disappointed in the lack of 20-somethings in attendance, not only in the audience but also as panelists and respondents. Of course I understand that the reason that most of the conference participants were not in their twenties is because there is a certain academic expertise that can only be achieved with time, and therefore the qualified speakers tended to be older than the the “20″ age bracket. Nevertheless, I wholeheartedly agree with Professor Beaudoin, a teacher who I had the great fortune of learning from last semester. It was somewhat patronizing to listen to a conference about the theological situation of my cohort, about what we think and how we behave, as dictated by an older generation. I know many fellow students in my major (Theology) as well as in the Curran Center who not only would have been interested in participating in the conference, but would have been just as articulate and qualified, especially considering that they are 20 something and in the Church.
FWIW, there were twenty-somethings in attendance who were not there to work. I recognized a few. (I’d like to think I could pass as one myself, but I must be honest and admit I no longer qualify.) I didn’t leave wishing I’d heard more from the members of the demographic in question — there was enough to lay groundwork, but any more would have felt like spinning wheels, to me, when I was much more interested in the discussions among people in ministry of different kinds about how to serve and reach a younger generation.
Some Data:
There were 23 panelists and respondents.
7 (30 percent) were 20 somethings (Cidade, Eirich, Sawyer, Landry, Schutz, Fabian, Muhammed);
4 (17 percent) were recently 20 somethings (Boudway, Daloisio, Nuzzi, Dillon);
11 (47 percent) worked with or had studied 20 somethings (Davidson, Putnam, David Campbell, Cervantes, Freitas, Carroll Campell, McGarvey, Santos, Schmitz, Beloin)
1 (4 percent) unclassified (Cataldo)
There were six moderators; five were Fordham faculty or administrators: 2 have fequent contact with or study 20 somethings (Parmach and Beloin); 2 teach 20 somethings (or college-aged students–Hinze and O’Donnell); one has taught 20 somethings (Steinfels); one (Jim Martin,S.J.) was well, Jim Martin.
Ms. Pennacchia: I was not referring to the excellent and efficient Fordham students who managed registration, ushering, etc. Since many were undergrads, they were not part of the demographic that was the focus of the conference, namely post-graduate or working 20 somethings, i.e., 22-30. I had intermittent conversations with some audience members who were part of this age group.
Thank you for those clarifications. They have helped me to better understand what my actual concern is – the lack of representation of undergraduate roughly 20 – 22 year olds (my direct cohort) at the conference. I suppose that this absence makes much more sense now, seeing as how I was previously unaware that this demographic was omitted from the intended focus of the conference.
I realize that I am completely biased on the subject; that the reason I did leave wishing I had heard more (or anything at all) from the demographic in question is precisely because I belong to that demographic. And of course, I also understand that some of the panelists and respondents were in their late twenties and that most of the panelists and respondents work or have worked with 20 somethings.
Regardless, I still stand by my opinion that representation from the lower part of the demographic should have been voiced, and perhaps in light of what I have learned, that this demographic should have been included in the first place. The fact that we were not seems to speak volumes about the degree to which younger people may easily feel “lost” in the Church.
SP: there’s a simple solution to this: Organize yourselves!
My thoughts exactly! Actually one of my classmates and I are currently planning to organize a forum in which Fordham students can respond and contribute to the issues raised at the conference. We were certainly inspired by it and hope that others will be too.
Stephanie, I hope you keep us updated on this. I for one would love to hear what you and yours have to say.