Fr. Christopher Jeffrey Aytona, OP, DomNet national adviser. (Contributed Photo)
MANILA, April 25, 2013—Over 150 members of the Dominican Network (DomNet) Youth Group celebrated the first week of Easter with a summer camp, highlighting lectures on the Year of Faith and leadership training seminars.
Held April 3–7 at the Angelicum School in Iloilo—famous for the historic Lizares Mansion—the annual affair was participated by 29 Dominican schools from across the country.
In an interview, Fr. Christopher Jeffrey Aytona, OP, national adviser of the DomNet Youth Group, said the event aimed to introduce guiding principles in the decision-making of young leaders, especially in these crucial times when state policies, such as the Reproductive Health Law, are directed to challenge life.
“More than just telling them what is right and what is wrong, we want to equip the youth with the perspective they need to decide for themselves conscientiously,” the adviser said.
Aytona, who delivered two lectures during the camp, stressed that sins against life derail a person from the path of being truly happy.
“We can only be happy if we are graced by God, and life is one of His graces,” he said.
Meanwhile, this year’s leadership training was facilitated with the help of the Catalyst, the outreach, advocacy, and leadership organization of the University of Asia and the Pacific.
The DomNet Youth Group was established in 1995, soon after Dominican schools in the country started cooperation in the same year to facilitate in the sharing of resources and expertise in the different fields of endeavors.
Since the formation of the youth group, an annual national gathering has been held in different locations in the country to plan activities and to train leaders in accordance to the group’s vision-mission, which is focused on “the passion for truth, compassion for humanity, and devotion to the Word of God and to the Blessed Virgin Mary through the Rosary.” (CBCPNews)
