Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Cologne (Agenzia Fides) – Father Silvio Vallecoccia, Scalabrinian missionary works as head of the International Youth Ministry program in Cologne.
Fr. Silvio, finding missionaries not in Africa, nor in Asia, but here in Cologne, in one of the areas in Germany with the oldest Catholic tradition, is a sign of the transformation that the planet is undergoing?
This is precisely it. I have been here for three years. Following my ordination, I came to the Diocese of Cologne as a missionary, at the service of Youth Ministry. After two years of studying the German language and inserting myself into the culture and Church here in Germany, I received this mission to work with foreign youth in the Diocese of Cologne.
The first important reflection is on the word “missionary.” Normally, when we speak of missionaries, we refer to priests that go to other countries where the Gospel has not yet been proclaimed and we refer to evangelization. As Scalabrinian missionaries, we have a specific connotation, the charism of being at the service of those cultures that have already heard the Gospel, but because of immigration, are living their faith in a different place.
In my little experience, as I have only been working with these youth for one year, I have seen that especially the second-generation youth are facing a dilemma: sometimes it is even a psychological violence: being obliged to accept a cultural context in which to live their lives and their experience of the faith.
Germany is in the heart of Europe...
In a European world that is formed of strong cultures, it is a great challenge giving these youth the possibility of choosing and giving them the right to citizenship...They are probably a new cultural identity that neither corresponds to that of their parents nor to the place where they were born.
Cologne, in a certain sense, has a great significance for its Catholic presence: I am thinking of the World Youth Day and the second-generation Italians and Spanish living here. How does this influence your day-to-day work in youth ministry?
The Archdiocese of Cologne has always placed particular emphasis on its youth ministry. Announcing the Word of God, the Gospel, among the youth begins in the schools at the age of 3 and continues into adulthood, when they must face life decisions. The Archdiocese of Cologne also performs this ministry to the youth of other languages. In the 90s, two offices for youth ministry with foreigners were formed, especially for Italian and Spanish speakers. In 2000, the Archdiocese formed a new organization for youth from outside the country, called International Youth Ministry. Immigration is an experience through which the youth tend to meet up with others from their same country. This makes evangelization easier, in a certain sense.
Can you describe your work in this ministry?
The Korean youth that come to Germany for the university, as they are less expensive compared to Korea, and they meet up with other youth of the same nationality, the same language, and enter into contact with the Catholic faith. They are invited by their own companions to participate in Sunday Mass and in the fraternal encounters that follow. They are invited to know the Catholic faith, by the youth themselves and there are often adult baptisms. This is also seen among other immigrant froups, for example those from African nations like Cameroon.
If this is the primary aspect, which I find very important, the second, which concerns me more personally, is that of making the youth aware of the new cultural identity that they have received as a gift. This gift has various origins: the culture, language, the nationality of their parents; the culture, language, and nationality of the youth; and the blend of relationships that have been formed by those who know the youth, the friends that belong to cultural groups...this is the challenge, as this situation has led our youth to other religions and thus, the interrogative on the meaning of the religious option, etc. While, at least in Europe anyways, people were practically born Catholic, now people are having to come to believe and chose faith in Jesus Christ, and this demands awareness.
And so?
It is in this context that we work, as the office of the International Youth Ministry, along with our collaborators. Another aspect that I find important in Europe is the phenomenon of the Erasmus programs at the universities. Youth get to know one another in a limited time of 6 months to one year, however it is enough to get the youth to reflect on their own religious experience. The following question comes to mind: we live in a multi-cultural Europe that is becoming more and more united – but where does this union lead us? The challenge is the communion of these differences, which become united and thus form new forms of thought and perspectives on the Church's development in Europe. (Luca de Mata, from Cologne) (Agenzia Fides 20/12/2008)
