What worries young people?translated

How to organize work with youth in the diocese? Why is the possibility of making mistakes important? Is the young man’s path the path of the prodigal son? We are talking with Ruslan Anatolyevich Tkachenko, an expert from the foreign department on youth affairs.

– Ruslan Anatolyevich, what, in your opinion, is the main goal of youth work in the Church? How to make this process alive, real?

–  The time of youth is the time of making mistakes. It is beautifully described in the Gospel parable of the Prodigal Son. The father let the youngest son go because he knew that everything that the son could get at home, being near his father, he had already received. The last thing left is to build a personal picture of the world on your own, without authority. The son made mistakes, but the father not only let him go, but also gave him money so that the son could pay for the mistakes he had made. My ideal in working with youth in the Church is when we can say honestly: “Come to us, with us you can make mistakes, with us you will form authority based on faith.” And the Church has the basis and the opportunity to say this and organize its work. In order to help boys and girls live through their youth correctly, my assistants and I have developed a special discipline - “Skymenology”. Literally the word...