Catholic youth work
Catholic youth work is the comprehensive term for youth work within the framework of the Roman Catholic Church . On the one hand, it includes offers from pastors and parishes to young people, but also has elements of self-directed activities by young people on their own initiative.
Church youth work is a form of socialization both in the church (e.g. as youth catechesis ) and in society (e.g. as open or association youth work ). The diversity of the forms of work corresponds to the diversity of the providers of Catholic youth work: parishes , youth associations , orders , spiritual communities and free initiatives. In view of this diversity, it is hardly possible to obtain reliable figures about how many young people meet today in Catholic youth work.
Goals of Catholic youth work
According to the guidelines issued by the German Bishops' Conference in 1991, church youth work sees itself as “the service of the church through young people, with them and for them”. According to the resolution of the Würzburg Synod , the church wants to serve young people "by helping them to realize themselves in a way and to shape a society that can be experienced as meaningful and humane by the adolescents. Aim of church youth work is therefore “not recruitment, but motivation and ability to orient life on the path of Jesus.” In doing so, the Catholic Church wants to take into account the world of young people as well as the overall social situation.
Church youth work in the Roman Catholic Church
The youth work of the Roman Catholic Church grew out of the parishes (parish youth). Between the two world wars, regional, supra-regional and Germany-wide mergers, clubs and associations emerged. These emerged from the youth movement and also the journeyman's associations of the Kolping Society ; in addition, existing associations (e.g. the World Scout Movement ) played a role, the work of which was based on an association structure.
After the Second World War, parish youth groups found themselves again that had not been banned during the National Socialist era because they were not church clubs or associations. The earlier associations, which had been banned from 1937, were also re-established. The German Bishops' Conference promoted the establishment of youth associations. In addition to the individual associations, an umbrella organization for all Catholic youth associations was established in 1947, the Federation of German Catholic Youth (BDKJ) .
To this day there is a coexistence of youth groups at parish or association level. The associations are also active at parish level, but act supraregional.
Outline and organizational structure of Catholic youth work
Due to the coexistence of association and non-association youth groups, a two-pronged organizational structure has emerged. Although the structures are similar, they should still be explained separately, as both structures are interwoven with each other. The structures of Catholic youth work are not uniform. They differ from diocese to diocese, sometimes even from deanery to deanery.
| level | designation | activity |
|---|---|---|
| group | Youth group | Here children and young people meet for group hours, activities in the parish, etc. |
| Parish | Leader group / management team | The individual group leaders meet for mutual agreements and choose a parish youth leadership from among their number; the management represents the interests of young people and children in bodies such as the parish council and, if applicable, its youth committee . |
| Dean's office | General Assembly of the Dean | The parish youth leaders meet for mutual agreements or to organize large projects. They elect the BDKJ board from among their number; first level, which is also responsible for training group leaders. The (arch) episcopal youth welfare offices have their first positions with full-time staff at this level. |
| diocese | Diocesan Assembly | The board of directors of the deanery and the board of the association meet (for similar tasks as above) and elect the diocesan board, which in some places is full-time. |
| Federation | Federal Assembly | The diocesan boards elect the federal board of the BDKJ; the federal executive is a direct link to the German Bishops' Conference and represents the church youth associations in public. |
| Europe and worldwide | European conference | The large Catholic youth organizations are members of international umbrella organizations or are already organized internationally. |
The respective board members of the BDKJ have the right to host and advise at all meetings of the respective levels. The BDKJ Dean's Board visits the local groups in the parishes, the Diocesan Board visits the districts or deaneries, et cetera.
In some dioceses, the deanery offices have been combined into regional offices. In other dioceses there is a regional level as a link between the deanery and the diocese. Supra-regional associations as an informative level also formed above the diocesan offices (e.g. in Bavaria). These branch offices of the (arch) episcopal youth welfare office also offer the following services:
- Holiday camps
- Orientation days for school classes
- Regional youth days
- Youth services
- Regular spiritual offers
- Project days
- Training for group leaders and committed people
Many regional or dean's offices also provide a large material pool for those involved in church youth work. There, for example, projectors, games or other devices that would be unprofitable for a smaller group can be borrowed for a mostly small fee.
The association structures differ from association to association. Nevertheless, there are similarities that are often based on the church structure.
| level | designation | activity |
|---|---|---|
| group | Youth group / age group | Here children and young people meet for group hours, activities in the parish, etc. |
| Parish | Local group / trunk / group of leaders / management team | The individual group leaders meet for mutual agreements and elect a board from among them; the management represents the interests of young people and children in bodies such as the parish council and, if applicable, its youth committee . The local / tribal heads also visit the dean's level of the BDKJ. |
| Region / Dean's Office / City / District | District / working group | The board members meet for mutual agreements or to organize major projects. They elect the district / AG executive committee from among their number; first level, which is also responsible for training group leaders. |
| diocese | Diocesan Assembly / Diocesan Conference | The district / AG board members meet (for similar tasks as above) and elect the diocesan board. The association boards also attend the diocesan assembly of the BDKJ. |
| Federation | Federal Assembly | The diocesan boards elect the federal board. The respective federal executive committee is also represented at the BDKJ. |
International youth work
| BDKJ Association | International umbrella organization | Further information |
|---|---|---|
| KjG | Fimcap | |
| KLJB | Mijarc | |
| Kolping youth | International Kolping Youth | |
| KSJ | JECI-MIEC |
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ Hermann Steinkamp : Youth work. In: Gottfried Bitter , Gabriele Miller (ed.): Handbuch Religionspädagogischer Grundbegriffe , Vol. 1, Munich 1986, pp. 218–226, here p. 218.
- ^ Werner Tzscheetzsch: youth work, youth association work. In: Norbert Mette , Folkert Rickers (ed.): Lexikon der Religionspädagogik , Vol. 1, Neukirchen-Vluyn 2001, Sp. 921–926, here 925f
- ↑ Guidelines on youth pastoral care (PDF; 70 kB). Website of the German Bishops' Conference, 1991, p. 3.
- ↑ Decision: youth work. In: L. Bertsch u. a. (Ed.): Joint synod of the dioceses in the Federal Republic of Germany. Freiburg 1976, pp. 288-311, here p. 294.
- ^ The German Bishops, Guidelines, 1991, p. 3.