Malcolm Hart: ‘We all need to walk with young people’

26 Sep 2019

By The Record

Malcolm Hart delivered his keynote address on the topic ‘Christ is Alive in our Young People of Australia’ at the recent Catholic Women’s League of Australia Inc Biennial Conference held at Bunbury, Western Australia from Monday 9 to Thursday 12 September. Photo: Feby Plando.

By Amanda Murthy

Developing personal connections and being a part of significant faith experiences are the top things that the Catholic Youth of Australia long for, according to a recent survey done by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC).

Director of the ACBC Office for Youth Malcolm Hart, delivered this message in his keynote address on the topic ‘Christ is Alive in the Young People of Australia,’ at the recent Catholic Women’s League of Australia Inc (CWLA) Biennial Conference held at Bunbury WA from 9 to 12 September.

During his address, Mr Hart gave a personal testimonial sharing on his involvement in youth ministry, before talking about the 2018 Youth Synod, some of the initiatives by the ACBC.

“I was the most joyful when I was with my youth group, on youth camps and when I was involved in my Parish. I still reflect on my experiences in my youth group and they remain very inspiring and foundational in my ministerial journey today,” Mr Hart said.

“After participating in World Youth Day (WYD) Paris, I led three pilgrimage from the Archdiocese Brisbane to WYD’s in Rome, Toronto and Cologne. I now coordinated Australia’s participation in WYD and have overseen national pilgrimages to Madrid (3500), Rio De Janeiro (1300 people) Poland (2600 people), and Panama (1000) which has a new international level of responsibility.

“My international responsibilities present great opportunities to meet with colleagues from all around the world to discuss the realities of world youth day, its’ impact on the Church and how we can make it a tool for local ministry renewal,” Mr Hart added.

Mr Hart went on to acknowledge the continual commitment of the Australian Bishops toward the young church of Australia, especially supporting events such as the upcoming Australian Catholic Youth Festival (hosted by Perth at the end of this year) and the Vatican’s 2018 Synod on Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment.

“This December, Perth will host the Australian Catholic Youth Festival and 30 of the 40 bishops in Australia are attending. The Youth Festival is the largest gathering of Australia bishops outside their plenary meetings and ordination events – so this is a huge commitment from the Bishops!,” Mr Hart stated.

“For the 2018 Youth Synod, the ACBC were tasked to develop and present a report to Rome on what is happening in youth ministry and the lives of young people in Australia. Every diocese had to submit a report and summarize all that they were doing, which was then collated and summarised internationally.

“This final Australian report is a reflection and testament to the life, vibrancy and approach of youth ministry in Australia. It acknowledges the work of all the different youth ministries and Catholic groups in this country,” he added.

One of the conference participants engaging with Malcolm Hart at the end of his keynote address on the topic ‘Christ is Alive in our Young People of Australia’ at the recent Catholic Women’s League of Australia Inc Biennial Conference held at Bunbury, Western Australia from Monday 9 to Thursday 12 September. Photo: Feby Plando.

Mr Hart also spoke about some of the outcomes from the youth survey developed by the ACBC as part of a lead-up to the 2018 Youth Synod, which received responses from 15 thousand Australian Youth.

“Then survey for youth clearly identified that family were the most important influence in a young person’s life, friends was number two, followed by schools, universities, schools and then parish life.

“Among some of the main issues confronting the youth of today – Mental health was the highest among all age groups, sexuality (as they grow older), school and studies (decreased as they got older) – Being surrounded by an environment of drugs and alcohol was also a key issue highlighted by the youth,” he explained.

A second research project facilitated by the ACBC Office for Youth involved 167 youth ministers, from which 12 were selected for an in-depth interview to identify the current realities and support of youth minsters in the country.

“Some of the key findings from our research with youth workers were that they came from successful youth ministry initiatives, they have a high salience (religious belief),  and leaders began in small roles and were gradually given more ministry responsibility leading them to more senior leadership roles,” Mr Hart cited.

”84 per cent of the respondents were volunteers in parishes, showing a very high commitment to their faith and to the youth. 46 per cent of survey participants identified they had no specific formal training in youth ministry which highlighted a need for greater formation strategy and resources in Australia..

Mr Hart ended his address by reflecting upon Pope Francis’ latest apostolic exhortation ‘Christus Vivit’ or ‘Christ is Alive’.

“What is so great about this exhortation is that it was addressed not only to young people, but to young people and the entire people of God.

“It doesn’t so much address the problems of the church, rather the opportunities that we have as young and old church moving forward,” he said.

“We are all called to walk with young people, as Christ did on the road to Emmaus,” Mr Hart concluded.