“NEVER SEE A NEED WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT”
Tens of thousands of young Catholics have been challenged to make a difference in their communities and the broader world on the second day of the Australian Catholic Youth Festival (ACYF).
The tone of reaching out to those in need was set by Most Rev. Mark Edwards, Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne, who quoted Australia’s first saint, Mary Mackillop to the packed stadium: “Never see a need without doing something about it”.
His rousing call to action was followed by the 2016 Young Australians of the Year and founders of Orange Sky Laundry, the free mobile laundry for the homeless, Nic Marchesi and Lucas Patchett. Marchesi told the packed arena how an encounter with a homeless man at the age of 13, and the realisation that 1 in 200 Australians are homeless, prompted he and Patchett to make a real change to the lives of those less fortunate.
Echoing Pope Francis’ call to build a culture of encounter, Marchesi challenged the young people: “You don’t need a bright orange washing machine van, you don’t need millions and millions of dollars, you don’t need thousands and thousands of hours; each and every one of us can deliver hope, each and every one of us can care, we just need to remind ourselves about the power of an awesome conversation.”
The 20,000 audience of predominantly secondary school students and young adults from all around Australia weren’t the only ones issued challenges during the day.
At a Bishops Exchange on mental health issues – listed by Catholic youth as their No.1 concern in the lead up to the festival – the young people told the Bishops that parishes weren’t doing enough to educate people about mental health and ways to give and receive help.
“We should have support groups for not only the youth that are suffering mental illness but also for the parents and carers of those who are suffering mental illness,” a young participant said.
And renowned writer and social commentator on women’s issues and bioethics, Melinda Tankard Reist, received a standing ovation from 1000 young people following the delivery of her talk, Challenging the Sexualisation of Society.
Ms Tankard Reist told the enraptured crowd, “we need to start challenging the notion that your worth depends on how hot you are”.
“Our young people are being made seriously ill as a result of the messages they absorb every of their lives through media and advertising negatively impacting their body image.”
The festival concludes tomorrow following pilgrimages across Sydney by thousands of youngsters who will descend on The Domain for the final Mass celebrated by the Archbishop of Sydney, Most Rev. Anthony Fisher OP, and who will be joined by up to 30 of his fellow bishops.