MANILA, June 20, 2013—The CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Youth (ECY) is encouraging dioceses and organizations to experience the World Youth Day 2013 event in Brazil via simultaneous local celebrations for those who cannot join the international event in Rio de Janeiro on July 23-28.
ECY has released guidelines for diocesan youth directors, coordinators, leaders, youth ministers in national councils of the Federation of National Youth Organizations (FNYO) and youth ministers in parishes, campuses and youth groups for this purpose, in response to the call of Stanislaw Cardinal Rylko, President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, to organize a local celebration.
In a message at the preparatory meeting for WYD 2013 in Rio de Janeiro last November 2012, the Cardinal spoke about the youth who will not be able to go to Rio due to different limitations, “with this, he encouraged youth ministries to help them participate at least spiritually or even through a simultaneous local celebration.”
“Heeding this call, our office asks youth ministries within our network to organize local celebrations of the WYD in Rio which was also discussed in the recent National Youth Coordinating Council 2013. We commend those youth ministry offices which have already commenced efforts on this regard,” ECY said.
The set of guidelines to aid in the planning and preparation are downloadable at http://cbcp-ecy.ph/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/ECY-Guidelines-for-WYD2013-simultaneous-local-celebration.pdf. Those who will be able to organize are also requested to accomplish a report form (http://cbcp-ecy.ph/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/ECY-WYD2013-simultaneous-local-celebration-Report-Form.pdf) and send the report to the commission by August 2, 2013.
“Feel free also to share these documents to those within your spheres of influence,” the commission furthered.
Three local simultaneous celebrations have already been organized and set to take place in Luzon. One is organized by the Diocese of Cubao with Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagle’s Gym in Quezon City as the venue, the second is jointly organized by FNYO/Military Ordinariate/National Capital Region diocese with Don Bosco Technical Institute in Makati City as the main venue, and the third is in Southern Tagalog Region which will be held in Calamba City with the Diocese of San Pablo, Laguna as the organizer. (Jandel Posion)
