Taizé leader urges young Christians to share their faith

|PIC1|The leader of the Taizé Community last night urged 30,000 young Christians to tell their peers about the Gospel.

Young Christians from across Europe have spent the last week reflecting on their relationship with God at the European Meeting of Young Christians in Poznan, Poland, which ends today.

Brother Alois told the youths last night that it was important for them to remain rooted in the church.

“We have seen that in Poland, faith in Christ is inseparable from belonging to the church,” he said. “So more than ever it is important not to run away but to go towards (the church), in order to express our love of this unique communion which is the church.”

Brother Alois said a new thirst for spirituality and the beyond was emerging in the West, as well as the church in China, which he recently visited.

“This is a sign of hope,” he said. “So the time has come for you, young people, to realise that it is up to you to transmit trust in God to others. Even if you have understood little of the Gospel, put it into practice; talk to your friends who do not know the faith, and accompany some children along the path of faith, too.

“You know all of your peers who, upon entering adulthood, are losing their links with the Christian community, not necessarily by a conscious decision but by a simple chain of circumstances. Will you go towards them and seek ways to renew a relationship with the faith?”

Brother Alois encouraged the youths to keep on looking for ways to deepen their understanding of faith into their adult years.

|PIC1|Earlier in the gathering, youth heard the “Letter from China” written by Brother Alois following his three-week visit to the country.

In his letter, Brother Alois praised Chinese Christians for their perseverance and faithfulness, but also spoke of the need for reconciliation within the Chinese church.

“The wounds of the divisions within the churches left by recent history is very painful. Convinced that the time has come to move beyond them, there are Christians who at present are seeking reconciliation,” he said.

“It is important for this to begin in the hearts of believers. Turning to God together in common prayer could be a way to show that unity is possible.”

The European Meeting of Young Christians is organised by the Taizé Community each year and is usually held in a major European city. This year, the meeting took place in Poznan at the invitation of the city’s archbishop and ecumenical leaders.

The next meeting will meet in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, on 28 December at the invitation of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Netherlands, the Protestant Church of the Netherlands and the Netherlands Council of Churches. The Dutch city is the birthplace of Erasmus and was named the European Capital of Youth in 2009.