Engaging the young a key task

ROME -- Beneath the Byzantine mosaics of one of Rome's oldest churches, Fabio Ratari spends his days on scaffolding, restoring the vaulted ceilings and faded medieval frescoes of Santa Maria in the Trastevere neighborhood.

With several piercings -- one in his nose and a few more through his earlobes -- the 23-year-old is not the type of person one might expect to see in a Roman Catholic Church. And although his forearm bears an elaborate tattoo of the Madonna of Guadalupe, Ratari acknowledges he is not a typical Catholic.

''I have my own philosophies. It doesn't mean that I don't believe, but I don't think they have to build all of these things for people to pray," he said, gesturing toward the towering granite columns and gold candelabras on the sides of the church's nave.

Another aspect of the Catholic Church of which Ratari is skeptical is its new leader: Pope Benedict XVI. ''He launched a moral battle against rock 'n' roll," said Ratari, referring to comments in 1986 made by the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who called the music a ''vehicle of antireligion."

''I don't think this pope is as open as Wojtyla," he said referring to John Paul II.

Among Benedict's many challenges, one of the most daunting may be fortifying ties between the church and young people worldwide. During his papacy, John Paul II reached out to world youth. In the early 1980s, Pope John Paul II pioneered World Youth Day, which drew crowds from all over the globe. Many young Catholics are wary of Benedict's conservative record from his prior roles. Linn Settimi, 17, of Rome, who was sharing a pizza with her boyfriend, Daniele Merlino, 22, outside Santa Maria in Trastevere, said she does not agree with the pope or the church ''on abortion, homosexuality, divorce, and sexuality in general."

''I think he needs to confront these issues in a different manner. He is upholding principles in a different period in time," said Settimi, who was baptized as a Catholic and now describes herself as an atheist.

Dr. Sandra Yocum-Mize, chairwoman of Religious Studies at the University of Dayton in Ohio, said that the differences between John Paul and Benedict are not doctrinal, but rather in their personalities and how they are perceived by youths.

''John Paul's engaging style mitigated his demands for a stricter lifestyle. He had an outdoor persona and his passion for theater and poetry might have engaged youth."

Yocum-Mize described Benedict as having a more professor-student relationship with young people and ''a soft-spoken personality" that young people ''may not find as attractive."

During his term as prefect for the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he upheld the high moral, ethical, and sexual standards set by Pope John Paul -- all issues that resonate with young people.

Throughout his 26-year papacy, John Paul opposed same-sex unions and forms of contraception that hindered the creation of human life. He also rejected the use of condoms, even as a means of combating AIDS, consistently promoting abstinence among unmarried couples.

Benedict is slated to celebrate World Youth Day on Aug. 16 in Germany, where about one-third of the population is Catholic. The event organizer and representative for the Vatican Council for the Laity, Monsignor Francis Kohn, said that this will be an opportunity for the new pope to connect with young people from his native country.

''The German pope knows the history and the culture of Germany and can speak readily in German to the youth," Kohn said. ''This is an opportunity to speak his own language and to get to know the young."

Like John Paul, he said, Pope Benedict XVI ''will make the youth a priority."

Strengthening the relationship between the church and American youths, Yocum-Mize said, may take a little more effort.

She characterized the country's young people into two categories. The first, she said, are Catholics ''who are thrilled that Ratzinger became pope and saw this as a reaffirming and strengthening of Catholic identity. This is a small minority."

The other group, she said, is disengaged with Catholicism, and ''whoever the pope is, it is not going to make much of a difference."

She said that Benedict might have more success influencing young people in intimate circles -- in parish settings, retreats, and high schools and colleges -- than in packed arenas.

''Engaging young people on a meaningful level is challenging work," she said. ''If Benedict could inspire people to engage in that work, support them in that work, he might make a difference."

But Ratari said it may be too soon to say how the new pope will compare with his predecessor.

''It's not the time to judge," said Ratari, ''He's only been pope for a few days. We have to hope for the best."