Cebu Archdiocesan Youth Commission to hold congress on May 14-16

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Commission on Youth (COY) of the Archdiocese of Cebu will be holding a three-day archdiocesan-wide youth congress on May 14-16, 2021, as part of the Quincentennial Celebrations of the Arrival of Christianity in Cebu. 

In a statement, the commission said the congress aims to revisit and amend the handbook for the youth in the archdiocese including its Constitution and By-laws.

Fr. Andrei Ventanilla, chair of the Archdiocese of Cebu – Commission on Youth, said that the congress was supposed to take place last May 1-3, 2020 but was postponed because of the pandemic.

Still, Ventanilla said the postponement gave the young faithful more time to diligently revisit and study the COY’s Orange Handbook that guides the Catholic youth’s ministry in the Catholic Church and re-align or amend these guides to address the present spiritual, pastoral, civil, professional, social, and moral concerns of the young Church members. 

The Cebu Diocesan Youth Coordinating Council, who will spearhead the event, and at the same time, delegates of the said congress, will be joined with the seven ecclesiastical districts of the Archdiocese, the Family of United and Empowered Leaders (FUEL), and the Archdiocesan Campus Ministry who will send five (5) official delegates each.

For the COY, the study of the constitution is an avenue to revisit the pastoral plans for the youth in the archdiocese in the light of the pastoral needs of the present times and in harmony with its vision, mission, and with the other youth-related activities and documents that have just been recently conducted.

“Even cellphones upgrade. We, the youth in the Archdiocese, should also upgrade in order to respond to the needs of the youth in the different communities,” contends Mr. James Michael Llesol, Youth President of the Metro Cebu North Ecclesiastical District 1, on the need to amend the handbook.

The COY could also be looking into tapping into technology to reach out to more youths and respond to their needs wherever they may be, growing in its ministry.

Furthermore, COY said the congress is a response to Pope Francis’s call to a “synodal journey with the young as embodies in his apostolic exhortation, Christus Vivit.”

It is also an amplification of Article 50 No. 2 of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP II) which states that “Since the youth constitutes a large and dynamic portion… it should be given the fullest attention and highest priority in every way by all in the church.”

/rcg