Scottish Catholic Observer

Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury has called on young Catholics to be authentic and convincing witnesses to faith.

Speaking during his homily during Mass at the Youth 2000 annual prayer held in Walsingham, Norfolk, on Sunday, the bishop (above) reflected on how young people are often being offered no direction in life except ‘make your own mind up; go left, go right—see what works for you!’

“It is not opinions we need,” the Bishop said to a congregation of a thousand young people gathered at Walsingham. “We need the truth. We cannot find our way without the truth.”

In the Faith and teaching of the Church, Bishop Davies insisted, we will never be deceived but find our sure direction.

Bishop Davies also reflected on the Sunday Gospel and ‘the all-decisive’ question which Our Lord put directly to St Peter and now to us: ‘Who do you say I am?’

“We cannot forget this summer what the answer to this question has meant for those Christians across the Middle East who were given the choice between denying Christ or facing violent death,” he said. “These Christians of our time, young and old, died rather than deny the One they knew to be the Christ, the Son of the living God. We call them ‘martyrs’ which means ‘witnesses’ because they were ready to stand up and to die in testimony to the truth Himself.

“Today we cannot compare what is asked of us with their heroism. However, a ‘quieter martyrdom’ is increasingly being asked of Christians in western societies like our own. We will be ‘witnesses’ beside them whenever we stand up and stand by what we know to be true.”

Bishop Davies told the young adults at the five-day festival that the Church, under the guidance of the popes, the successors of St Peter, would never mislead them but would instead give them the directions and the means ‘of finding the way to Heaven.’

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