National Youth Sunday 2006
National Youth Sunday marks the launch of the ‘Live Simply’ Challenge.
On Sunday 26 November 2006, the Feast of Christ the King, young people in parishes up and down the country will be calling on their peers, their parents and their grandparents to live simply, sustainably and in solidarity with the poor.
Over 6000 ‘Live Simply’ packs have been delivered to every diocese in England and Wales, as well as to youth offices, justice & peace groups, schools, colleges and universities. Within the pack, produced jointly by Catholic Youth Services (CYS) and CAFOD, there is a DVD-ROM featuring young people from El Salvador, Guyana, Zambia and the UK tackling issues of injustice. Each explains how their faith motivates them to change their communities and the world around them.
Ruiz from El Salvador belongs to a group determined to try and stamp out gang culture:
“You need to believe in young people if you want a good future,” says Ruiz.
“Politicians are always saying how young people are the future of our country, but we are not the future, we are the present, you need to have a present to have a future.”
“We at the CYS are excited that the Live Simply challenge is being launched on National Youth Sunday,” says Helen Bardy, CYS Director.
“This highlights and celebrates the commitment, vitality and potential of our young people and young adults to inspire and lead the Church throughout the year. It is a key opportunity for young people to challenge society’s misconceptions of young people as trouble makers and instead become activists by leading the way in making long term lifestyle changes and living in solidarity with the poor.”
The ‘Live Simply’ challenge will also mark forty years since the publication of Pope Paul VI’s Populorum Progressio (the Development of Peoples).
A number of organisations, including Pax Christi and Progressio, are planning a series of events and challenges on themes of justice.
National Youth Sunday is a national feast day always celebrated in conjunction with the liturgical feast of Christ the King aimed at celebrating young people and young adults and their importance in the church community. This year National Youth Sunday will act as the launch of the Live Simply Challenge.
Populorum Progressio is the papal encyclical written by Pope Paul VI on the issue of “the development of peoples”. The thrust of the encyclical’s message is to live simply, sustainably and in solidarity with the
