7 questions to JUVENTUTEM

Juventutem is an international delegation of traditional youth to the XXth World Youth Day in Cologne 2005 (10th-15th/15th-21st August 2005). That delegation is named "Juventutem" (www.juventutem.com), as a quote from the prayers at the foot of the altar in our 1962 Missal : "Introibo ad altare Dei, ad Deum Qui laetificat juventutem meam". Nowadays there is a cult of youth as if it were a value in itself. That is not good for the youth, neither for society in general. That is why we have chosen a name which refers to the only genuine youth, the one found not according to the number of years or supposedly retained through cosmetic but rather that spiritual youth given through humble and confident familiarity with divine grace.

Still, we know that the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims expected to rally to Cologne, Germany, between 15th and 21st August 2005 will not be older than 30 years of age. It is no secret that few among them know about the 1962 Missal. Neither do traditional souls ignore the abuses which often occur in huge gatherings, regarding the way people dress or behave, or even regarding the way Holy Communion is distributed. For those reasons, officially there has never been any traditional delegation to the World Youth Day so far. That is going to change.

Let us have a quick look first at the Ecclesia Dei movement. Next summer, it will be the 17th year after the Pope John Paul II's motu proprio Ecclesia Dei. By now the Ecclesia Dei movement gathers one bishop (Bishop Rifan of Campos), several hundreds of priests and religious, with various apostolates and Mass centres almost on all continents and thousands of deserving individuals and families supporting those vocations, together with several good traditional newspapers and magazines and publishing houses. The Fraternity of St Peter alone numbers 300 members, including 180 priests and 120 seminarians. The Institute of Christ the King is also growing steadily, not to mention the religious communities like the Dominican Fraternity of St Vincent Ferrer, the Regular Canons of the Mother of God, or Benedictine monasteries like Le Barroux, Fontgombault, Clear Creek (USA), etc. All work in conformity with Pope John Paul II's mind as expressed again on September 21, 2001 in his address to the plenary assembly of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments : "In the Roman Missal of Saint Pius V, as in several Eastern liturgies, there are very beautiful prayers through which the priest expresses the most profound sense of humility and reverence before the Sacred Mysteries: they reveal the very substance of the Liturgy".

Divine Providence has allowed us all to multiply and bear fruit for the Church, as is now manifest. It cannot be denied that the Ecclesia Dei movement, despite many internal and external difficulties, has become a significant component in the life of the Church today. Such a statement has led all the superiors of the Ecclesia Dei communities to support Juventutem as a lay initiative to participate in WYD 2005. Three institutes of pontifical right (Priestly Fraternity of St Peter, Fraternity of St Vincent Ferrer, St Philipp Neri Institute of Berlin) and other various clerical or religious communities (Institute of Christ the King, Regular Canons of the Mother of God, Holy Cross Community of Riaumont, Benedictine Abbey of Le Barroux) plus many lay organisations such as the Una Voce International Federation are currently working together for the Juventutem project.

Thanks be to God and to their parents' care, many traditional youth have received the grace of orthodox catechesis and inspiring liturgy. At college and at university, at work and on holiday, they are bound to meet with other youth who often have lacked adequate Catholic education. With prudence and charity, traditional youth may wish to share their gratuitously received graces with others, as is appropriate among children of the same and one Saviour.

Who could affirm that some abuses which have occurred in former WYD will absolutely not happen again in Cologne? Every Catholic soul wishes such things could be prevented, starting with the Holy Father's who wrote in Ecclesia de Eucharistia (17 April 2003) : "It must be lamented that, especially in the years following the post-conciliar liturgical reform, as a result of a misguided sense of creativity and adaptation there have been a number of abuses which have been a source of suffering for manyä(¤52).

One way to help improve the situation is to pray and offer sacrifices for more respect towards the Most Holy Sacrament and for more dignity and modesty in social behaviour. Another way is to be physically present on the spot and behave in a manner that will altogether avoid abuses and favour contacts with all those who ask about us. Surely both ways are compatible : one can go to WYD and pray and offer sacrifices.

Furthermore, the specific context of WYD 2005 appeals to traditional souls. Indeed the theme for WYD 2005 is : "We have come to worship Him". There is a particular emphasis on the cult of latria, which all rational creatures must demonstrate towards Almighty God. In the perspective of the current Eucharistic Year, such adoration focuses on the Person of Christ Our Redeemer, as sacramentally present under the Eucharistic species. Youth from our Traditional communities are particularly well prepared to appreciate such a program and to help fulfil it.

The Holy Father calls all faithful to a New Evangelisation; therefore our traditional youth cannot be afraid of sharing the richness of that liturgical and spiritual patrimony with other youth. Naturally, some among us may need preparation. For that reason, Juventutem will start in Bavaria, before going to Cologne. During 6 days, various doctrinal lectures and liturgical events and charitable activities will help our youth to better understand the value of Catholic Tradition and its missionary potential. Once we reach Cologne, daily schedule will also be organised so as to ensure our youth feel comfortable under the guidance of clerics and lay staff in whom they will rightly trust.

4) Will Juventutem be allowed to celebrate according to the traditional Missal in Cologne?

That would not be an innovation, since the 1962 Missal is already used in Cologne on a weekly basis at Maria-Hilf church with permission from local Archbishop H.E. Cardinal Meisner. We have made it explicit to WYD authorities that we expect our own liturgical identity to be welcomed. Our own customs are in harmony with the Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum, On certain matters to be observed or to be avoided regarding the Most Holy Eucharist, published by the Holy See on 25th March 2004. About Holy Communion for instance, paragraph 92 reads : "each of the faithful always has the right to receive Holy Communion on the tongueä. Inviting us to WYD without enabling us to bring the richness of our own traditions would be like inviting a violinist to a philharmonic orchestra without allowing him to play his instrument.

At WYD 2002 in Toronto, the 750 registered Catholic youth of Ukrainian rite were given the use of two churches (one for English-speakers and one for Ukrainian-speakers) were bishops would give them catechesis and were they would celebrate their own "Divine liturgyä closing each day's session. As we are expected to be over 2.000 youth, we believe we will be welcomed the way our Eastern Rite fellows Catholic have been at the last WYD. The parallel between our rite and Eastern Catholic rites was drawn 10 months after WYD Toronto by Cardinal Castrillon-Hoyos himself in St Mary Major in Rome during the traditional Pontifical Mass he celebrated there on 24th May 2003 :"The ancient Roman rite therefore retains in the Church its right of citizenship in the bosom of the multiplicity of Catholic rites both western and oriental. What unites the diversity of these rites is the same faith in the Eucharistic Mystery, the profession of which guarantees the unity of the Church, holy, catholic and apostolic".

When so eminent a Vatican official makes such a public statement, it cannot be seen as a subjective opinion. As Cardinal Castrillon-Hoyos still is Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy as well as President of the Ecclesia Dei Commission, we have asked for his official support for Juventutem. As was hoped, His Eminence has kindly given indeed written approval of Juventutem.

On 18th August 2002 the same Cardinal Castrillon-Hoyos had consecrated Bishop Rifan in the traditional rite, making him the only bishop in the world with a Church mission to fulfil an integrally traditional ministry. Bishop Rifan is used to serving traditional souls even far away from Campos (the Brazilian diocese where his Personal Apostolic Administration is located). He has accepted to be Juventutem's main clerical representative. As a consequence of all that has just been described, the superiors of the Ecclesia Dei communities, together with several traditional lay organisations, have judged it appropriate to be present at the WYD 2005, lawfully expecting that the charisma entrusted by the Pope to their institutes will be welcomed in Cologne for what it is : not an alien threat but a Catholic gift.

Two kinds of benefits are to be expected. First of all, ad intra, working together within Juventutem provides the Ecclesia Dei communities with an opportunity to know each other better, enabling them to be more efficient in the pursuit of our common traditional goal within Holy Mother Church. Also, our youth coming from over 30 countries will have a unique opportunity to meet with each other and make useful contacts. They will verify that their attachment to Catholic Tradition is shared by many young ladies and young men their age with sometimes very different backgrounds.

Secondly, ad extra, Juventutem will help make us better known by a triple public coming from all over the world : the youth, the clergy and religious, and the media. Many among them either hear about us via unreliable reports and caricatures or even do not know us at all. If we manage to let ourselves be seen for what we are : covering a variety of origins and cultures, people of good will and joyful, using the traditional rite and spirituality not to protect ourselves from modern world but to help convert it and bring it to Our Lord, then we will have done a lot for the Church through the Ecclesia Dei family.

There will be 6 days in Bavaria (south Germany) followed with 6 days in Cologne (north Germany). Traditional Juventutem youth and clergy only will partake in the first week. We expect 2.000 youth and about 60 priests and religious. They will be based in Catholic Bavaria, next to FSSP international seminary Wigratzbad, 10 miles from magnificent Lake Constance, 3 miles from Austria and Switzerland. Pilgrims will sleep under the tent, in a camp along a small river which will be equipped with water, showers, WC and everything required by German norms. We will start on Wednesday morning 10th August 2005 at Neuschwanstein, the famous castle built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria, a cousin of Austrian Empress "Sissi". After a visit and picnic by the lake, we will drive to Ottobeuren, one of finest baroque abbeys in Bavaria, where we will have traditional pontifical High Mass. Then we will

drive to Wigratzbad for supper and first night. Every day there will be traditional Holy Mass in one of the neighbouring churches (Lindau, Lindenberg, etc) and sung Gregorian Vespers (or Lauds); doctrinal teaching in several languages by traditional clerics and theologians (main theme : the seven sacraments); permanent Eucharistic adoration; walks in the beautiful Bavarian countryside and visits of various places of interest in that region's most rich architectural and historical Catholic patrimony.

There will also be daily opportunities to meet with a priest to discuss and to receive the sacrament of Confession. In the evening we will have some recreation and some meditation ending with Gregorian Complines.

On Monday morning 15th August we will travel to Cologne, stopping on the way for Pontifical High Mass of the Assumption. We will then meet at our place of residence with other Juventutem youth from Eastern countries who will have spent their own first week in Poland (on pilgrimage to the famous shrine of Czestochowa). As far as prayers and teaching are concerned, daily schedule will be similar to the one in Bavaria.

In Cologne though, meetings with other delegations for meals, for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and for various activities in the evening will be scheduled. With other youth from different continents we will also take time to venerate the relics of the Three Wise Men kept at the Cathedral since the Middle-Ages. We will welcome the Holy Father when he arrives on Thursday afternoon 18th, and pray during the Papal Mass on Sunday 21st.

Diocesan bishops who come to confer Holy Orders and other sacraments in the Ecclesia Dei communities or attend the traditional pilgrimage to Chartres at Pentecost every year will visit Juventutem and give us some catechetical lectures. We will also have some pro-life activities with associations telling us about their work among the youth. Lastly, we will provide genuine Catholic culture : first of all through the splendours of the Traditional Roman liturgy; then through an exhibition of beautiful sacred vestments and vessels which will help youth and clerics improve their Eucharistic devotion ; thirdly we will have some artistic commentaries of famous classical Christian paintings projected on screen ; all other initiatives are welcomed (theatrical play, music, etc).

Conductor Richard Llewellyn (trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London and a choirmaster at Indult Masses in the UK and in France) will direct a wholly professional choir gathering the best singers from Westminster Cathedral and from the London Oratory. They will perform daily either during Holy Mass or at Vespers or for Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. They will sing various compositions from the classical repertoire (works by Palestrina, Mozart, FaurŽ, etc) as well as more recent Catholic music.

There will also be frequent opportunities for non professional youth to sing Gregorian chant or carols or polyphonic according to circumstances. Those who wish will be able to attend special classes to be trained in choral singing. Thus we want to follow the Holy Father's encouragements in his Letter to Artists (1999) : The faith of countless believers has been nourished by melodies flowing from the hearts of other believers, either introduced into the liturgy or used as an aid to dignified worship(¤12).

There is still a lot to be done in order to ensure Juventutem will be able to operate this summer.

1. First of all we need your prayers. Whether you are willing to come to Cologne or not, you can pray the Lord that WYD 2005 be a time of genuine sanctification according to His Sacred Heart for all those involved in that event. In that perspective, we ask all religious communities and seminaries and parishes and even schools or other institutions who wish it to write to us in order to be enrolled in our list of mutual intercession. When we receive formal request from such community, we will inscribe them as spiritual support for Juventutem and will associate them to the spiritual benefit of our own prayers and sacrifices.

2. Second, we need as many English-speaking youth as possible to inscribe in Juventutem. There are many clergy and lay organisers (for instance Una Voce USA and The Latin Mass Society UK) already committed to organising English-speaking groups to Juventutem. All clergy and religious are welcome to lead their youth to Europe within Juventutem, provided they accept our liturgical and spiritual guidelines. Please send us any project you may want to present within Juventutem.

3. Third, we need sponsors who will help youth and clergy to travel to Europe and will pay for some of the expenditures (tents, coaches, food, printing, etc). For all information, donations (with tax deductions) and requests please write to "Coordination Juventutem,10, rue Robert Fleury, F-75015 PARIS, FRANCE"; or email to information@juventutem.com (press contact : press@juventutem.com). Please also regularly check updates on www.juventutem.com.

Laudetur Jesus Christus in aeternum!



Coordination Juventutem

Coordination for the WYD 2005
10, rue Robert Fleury
F. 75015 PARIS
Site : www.juventutem.com
Mail : information@juventutem.com