Spanish cardinal in Medjugorje: New spiritual movements are bearers of hope

Spanish cardinal: New spiritual movements are bearers of hope

Archbishop of Barcelona, Omella, at the Youth Festival in Medjugorje: Young people are not the future, but the present of society and the Church

Spanish Cardinal Juan Jose Omella has described the new spiritual movements as a great hope for the Catholic Church in Europe. In his Archdiocese of Barcelona, in the midst of the already advanced secularisation, he also sees a "new generation of people who read and implement the Gospel in a new way". They form a multitude of "green branches of communities that are active in passing on the faith and in commitment to others and thus bear witness", said the President of the Spanish Bishops' Conference in an interview with the news agency, Kathpress on Tuesday on the sidelines of the International Youth Festival "Mladifest" in Medjugorje.

Cardinal Omella referred specifically to communities such as "Comunione e Liberazione", Emmaus, Ephata, the Catholic Action groups and also the Medjugorje prayer groups, all of which have gained a foothold in recent years and decades and are giving the Church a new face. The hallmark of these movements is an active life of prayer in community and at the same time the taking on of service to others, such as those affected by poverty, the homeless or people in prisons. For him, "young people are not the future of society and the Church, but the present, acting in a new way like the apostles", the Cardinal stressed.

The "old Europe", in which apostolic enthusiasm sometimes seemed to have run out and Christian roots to have disappeared, was thus experiencing, according to Archbishop Omella, a "breath of the Holy Spirit blowing over the ashes and uncovering pockets of embers to light a new fire". God sets people in motion and projects many such "embers" out over the continent and it is important for the Church to be surprised by them. This also means being prepared to let plans that have already been made fall apart again in order to open up to God's plans.

The Cardinal attributed special importance to the places of faith and pilgrimage, specifically Medjugorje, Lourdes and Fatima. They support this event because many people there "are touched by God and the Virgin Mary, give their lives a turn and begin a new life in faith and apostolate". Often their eyes are opened anew to what is otherwise overlooked and must be regained - especially the view of "the great miracle that it is the Lord who is present in a small piece of bread, in the Word that we proclaim and in the community".

For young people, major religious events of faith such as the "Mladifest" or the World Youth Days initiated by Pope John Paul II have also become important. "It is very helpful for young people to meet others who share the same faith and hope, and it enables them to have an encounter with Jesus Christ. It shows them that they are not alone and takes away the fear of believing and giving their lives to God," Omella said. He added that the number of people gathered does not matter, because "God does not know mathematics, with him every single person counts. For one, he leaves behind a thousand others".

The Cardinal described the contribution of religiously motivated young people to peace as indispensable. "Peace is not about balancing tensions, but about living fraternity together. Despite the diversity of cultures, races, languages and creeds, we have something that unites us all - that we are children of God and therefore brothers and sisters," Omella stressed. Building peace requires the ability to forgive, to understand the other and "not to see each other as enemies, but as brothers and sisters".

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