Meet The Youth Where They Are

From time to time, I come across articles in my Facebook feed that touch on some novel aspect of church life. One that caught me by surprise was a recent story about a Catholic centre in Vienna that is offering free tattoos.

I confess that my initial reaction was the same as probably many readers: “Yuk!” I really do not like tattoos and find myself recoiling from the idea of a Catholic group encouraging them. But I realise that this is irrational. The Southern Cross, in answering a question from a reader in the July 2022 issue, confirmed that there is no Catholic prohibition on tattoos (see scross.co.za/2022/08/does-the-church-allow-tattoos/).

As with many issues in Catholic morality, what matters is context, intention, moderation, and an awareness of the effect on other people.

The group running the campaign in Austria starts from the premise that people are getting tattoos anyway; so, rather than ignoring this desire — or worse yet, making people feel unwelcome in church — they want to turn it into something positive and indeed spiritual. The organiser is quoted as saying: “We want to help shape a Catholic perspective on tattooing that is not based on prohibition and rejection but on friendliness and equality.” Wouldn’t it be wonderful, in general, if our Church was known for friendliness and equality rather than for prohibition and rejection?

The group is actually called Quo Vadis, the Latin term meaning “Where are you going?”. Some readers might recall the 1951 Hollywood epic of that name in which a Christian is asked this question as he tries to flee the persecution in Rome. “Where are you going?” is a question that we all, as Christians, should ask ourselves frequently, since it is the question that God asks us: Where are our lives heading?

The Quo Vadis centre is asking just that question of the young people who come there looking for tattoos — where are you going? What is the longing that you are seeking to fulfil with a tattoo? How can Christ help fill that desire?

Some might see this as the Church trying to appeal to the youth by being trendy. Quite apart from there being nothing wrong with appealing to the youth, the fact is that there is a long tradition of “body art” in Christianity. The Austrian tattoo artist points out that medieval pilgrims were often tattooed to prove that they reached Jerusalem. To this day, Coptic Christians place a cross on their right wrist to mark them out.

Treasure the old and new

But the test of what is good in Christianity cannot be simply if something is old or new. It is as absurd to reject everything that is new as it is to reject everything that is old. In the Gospel, Jesus applauds the disciple who brings out of his storeroom “treasures that are old and new” (Matthew 13:51). I take inspiration from the name of the most popular Anglican hymn book: “Ancient and Modern”. We need both of these in our lives as Christians.

We see this tension in the Church’s attitude towards technology. Initially, she has been suspicious and even opposed to innovations. In the 1830s, Pope Gregory XVI was so concerned about the corrupting potential of innovations that he banned railways and street lighting in the Papal States.

But on other occasions, the Church has been at the forefront of using new media: as early as 1931, Pope Pius XI worked with the inventor of the wireless, Guglielmo Marconi, to establish Vatican Radio. Those who initially criticised bishops or even the pope for using Twitter or Facebook should know their Church history better.

In fact, having been forced to engage with technology in order to get round the restrictions of lockdown, many parishes and dioceses have now discovered how important social media can be for their ongoing mission and ministry. What started as an unwelcome challenge has become an opportunity to grow and develop.

New opportunities

But why do we have to wait until we are forced to act? There are new media staring us in the face which we either ignore or condemn when we could be engaging. Think of how many hours young people are spending on computer games — where is the creative thinking about how we can leverage that medium to spread the Gospel? If that sounds outlandish let me quote from the Vatican II document Inter Mirifica:

“The Church recognises that these media, if properly utilised, can be of great service to humankind, since they greatly contribute to people’s entertainment and instruction as well as to the spread and support of the Kingdom of God.” The media of social communication have changed in the last 60 years but not the challenge to utilise them to the greater glory of God.

Music is one area that has been a battleground between conservatives and progressives, with similar contradictions. Supporters of Christian rock argue that it has been very effective in bringing the gospel message to young people. But there are still those who oppose rock music in church for being modern and trendy, in contrast to the traditional organ. They forget that the organ was at one time also new, and conservatives at the time presumably also opposed its novelty and longed for the days of Gregorian chant. (Ironically, guitars might be the closest we have to the oldest example of religious music — think of King David and his lyre!)

In June, which in South Africa is dedicated to the youth, we should as a Church be reflecting on how we engage with the youth. Very early on in his papacy, Pope Francis spotted the fact that one way of getting close to young people was to encourage them to take selfies with him, despite his own reservations about them. While die-hards were appalled, the strategy worked and has enabled him to be much more approachable. The pope then uses the connection he has created to talk to young people and to show them the treasures (‘”old and new”) that the Gospel offers them.

The question “Where are you going?”‘ is indeed one that we should be asking young people. But we cannot ask it effectively if we do not start with a prior question: “Where are you coming from?”

A few years ago, I had the great privilege of putting a group of school learners in a room full of clergy (dozens of priests, a bishop, a cardinal and a papal nuncio). After watching a play about drug use, the clergy were then invited not to talk but to listen: to hear from the young people themselves what their experience and attitudes were towards drugs. Only after listening, were the clergy invited to talk.

If we do not take the trouble to understand the lives of young people — their joys and hopes but also their griefs and anxieties — we cannot hope to talk to them about the Gospel. And we might have to go further and use a language with which they are comfortable — be it tattoos or Instagram or Tik-Tok — even if we are not. In Matthew 9:17, Jesus reminds us not to try and put new wine in old wineskins.

If I have any advice to people working with the youth this month, it is this: before challenging others, allow them to challenge you. And allow yourself to see God as potentially at work in all things: even those that make us recoil.

Published in the June 2023 issue of The Southern Cross magazine