John Paul II did not pander to the young. He understood from experience that deep within the youthful heart is a yearning for meaning, for nobility, for greatness. Continue Reading »
What bishop Aguiar did not explain was why fulfilling the Great Commission through evangelization and catechesis—hitherto understood to be essential components of any World Youth Day—was “proselytism.” Continue Reading »
That summons to strive for heroic virtue—don’t settle for second-best; no matter what others ask of you, ask the best of yourself—was one facet of John Paul II’s remarkably magnetic appeal for young people. Continue Reading »
Several years ago, Father Raymond de Souza, one of my fellow faculty members at an annual Kraków-based summer seminar on Catholic social doctrine, made a trenchant observation about the city John Paul II used to call “my beloved Kraków.” Kraków, Father de Souza observed, was the city where . . . . Continue Reading »