VATICAN, Aug. 18 (CWNews.com) - "World Youth Day is changing our perspectives on the future of the Church, and giving us a new burst of hope," reports Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger.
Cardinal Lustiger, the archbishop of Paris, made his remarks after celebrating Mass for French-speaking pilgrims in the Flaminio Stadium in the north of Rome. He said that after three days of this week's celebration in Rome, he has been struck primarily by "the prophetic role of youth, which expresses the anticipation of something that is now a dram, but could become a reality." The French prelate said that when World Youth Day was celebrated in Paris in 1997, it marked "a turning point in our apostolic perspective." Rather than thinking of Catholicism as a dwindling force, he said, the celebration helped to remind Church leaders that they should not judge their efforts solely in human terms, "but in light of the hope that we have in God and in his power made manifest through the sacraments."
Catholic World News Service - Vatican Update