As word leaked out, some in the American Church began quietly to voice their concerns to Rome. It would be a disaster, nobody would come. Denver was not a coastal city near tens of millions of people. Besides, the youth weren't really into Pope John Paul II, well at least not the ones whose parents were voicing their concerns to Rome. The Holy Father knew better. The year was 1993 and the event was World Youth Day. Those four days would become a tremendous success for the Church and for the former "youth minister" from Krakow. Many in the mainstream media, including the youth oriented MTV, were stunned by the success of World Youth Day. It would forever be a signpost that the tide had started to turn. The youth were embracing the Church.
Some skeptics doubt the thesis of my book, The Tide Is Turning Toward Catholicism. However, since that Denver World Youth gathering, there has been sign after sign that the tide is turning. Subsequent world youth days, which took place in Manila, Paris, Rome, Toronto and Cologne, have been tremendous successes. Yet, it is behind the scenes at youth gatherings and classrooms — observing the interaction among the youths themselves — where much of the evidence can be seen. Many young people in the Church have personally witnessed the destructive aspects of a culture that preaches everything is OK. Young people want answers and the "anything goes" attitude they witness around them or the touchy-feely approach of some 1970s-style youth ministers aren't cutting it. Therefore, young people embraced the leadership of Pope John Paul II as they now embrace Pope Benedict XVI.
While some "doubting Thomases'" might have become believers after Pope John Paul II's funeral, when over one third of the record crowd of five to seven million were under the age of 25, other skeptics still either don't buy into the fact that many young people also like Pope Benedict XVI or just throw up their hands in disbelief. Again, in a culture devoid of moral absolutes and certainty, the Church stands tall amidst the morass. Witness World Youth Day 2005 in Cologne, Germany. The refrain from the mainstream media was familiar: Pope Benedict is not Pope John Paul II, and few will come. Over one million young people came. They still come to Rome and other locations that the Holy Father visits.
In the last few years of Pope John Paul II's pontificate, some in the mainstream media dismissed the large crowds coming to Rome as a "cult of personality." These same skeptics, even some Catholic clergy voiced the opinion that the crowds would tail off now that an older, "more doctrinaire" German was pope. The same people who rarely said anything kind about Pope John Paul II when he was alive are now saying Pope Benedict can't possibly draw the crowds that the previous Holy Father did. Yet the crowds keep coming. The first two years of Pope Benedict XVI's pontificate have seen record crowds. Even with increased travel security and the world economy being far from perfect, record crowds of the faithful, many of them disproportionately young are coming to see the man who spoke out against the "dictatorship of relativity" that is so infecting their youth culture.
Young people see some of their friends leave the faith for others faiths, and often for no faith at all. They see so many lives lived without focus or adherence to ancient teachings and traditions. Therefore, the many who remain faithful to the Church want to experience and learn more about the 2,000 years of Church teachings, the scriptures, traditions, sacraments, devotions and signs and symbols of the faith. Often young people in the Church love Marian devotions and Eucharistic Adoration. Whenever a large youth event is organized, many priests are needed for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I have personally witnessed youths waiting for over an hour to go to Confession without any prodding from organizers. It was said that while there were hundreds and thousands of priests hearing confessions during Denver's World Youth Day, some priests literally passed out from exhaustion after hearing confessions for hours on end.
Young people are listening and following the advice of chastity speakers like Jason Evert as well as Catholic campus groups like FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) who strongly adhere to the Church's teachings. The tide is turning toward Catholicism because young people are listening to those who adhere to the Church's teachings. They see enough frivolity on television and the world around them; they want something that has endured the test of time. Perhaps the reason I could write a book titled The Tide Is Turning Toward Catholicism is best summed up in the words of Nikki Shasserre, spokeswoman for the Catholic campus group FOCUS. I asked her if she could respond to a comment from those I had spoken to from an earlier generation who said, "We want to change the Church." She replied that her generation had seen the consequences of that mindset. "We want the Church to change us." Indeed the tide is turning!
