Why I Am Catholic 2

World Youth Day. What an inspired and brilliant idea JPII had - to bring young people together from all over the world to pray, learn, and meet with the Holy Father. My own WYD experience was life changing when I went to Rome in 2000 with Sarah and Elizabeth.

Each of our five children went to at least one: Theresa and David(Denver and Paris), Liz and Sarah (Rome) and Mary (Cologne). It was a mission of ours to make sure that each one had an opportunity to go. The strongest message that came across to them, I believe, was how much they, as young people, were loved by the Pope. I remember the air ringing with "JP2 we love you!!" and hearing him respond with "JP2 he loves you too!" The world finds this so difficult to believe. An 80+ year old man being treated like a rock star. The media said it was because JP was so charismatic. Then he died and in his place was a man the media portrayed as a vicious rotweiller, one who searched and destroyed heretics. How many will show for this man? Instead we found a humble, joyful, and loving Pope Benedict. He went to his native Germany (chosen as the location of the 2005 WYD long before he was elected) and greeted one of the largest gatherings - 1.2 million. Now how do we explain it?

There were more than a million at many of the WYDs (5 million in Manila) which take place every 2 (now 3) years. There were 2 million + in Rome - when I looked out over the University of Rome I could see young people as far as the eye could see. Young people singing and smiling. Such a contrast to what we saw in Britain this past month

And this year in Spain, a country where most people see their Catholicism as a long forgotten heritage - the crowds are huge again - 1.5 mm. Just when the world might have been convinced the church is dying - when the sins of its leaders seemed to overshadow all that is good and holy and profound. We see gathered the church's future - vibrant, joyful and in love - listening intently to the beautiful words of "Benedicto" meant just for them in times such as these:

We, on the other hand, know well that we have been created free, in the image of God, precisely so that we might be in the forefront of the search for truth and goodness, responsible for our actions, not mere blind executives, but creative co-workers in the task of cultivating and beautifying the work of creation. God is looking for a responsible interlocutor, someone who can dialogue with him and love him. Through Christ we can truly succeed and, established in him, we give wings to our freedom. Is this not the great reason for our joy? Isn’t this the firm ground upon which to build the civilization of love and life, capable of humanizing all of us?