I hope you’ve been reading The Tablet and watching The NET these past two weeks. If so, you’ve had a front-row seat on one of the most uplifting news stories of the year.

If you haven’t been tuned in, and instead have been watching network TV or reading the daily newspapers, you missed it all.
Of course, I’m talking about World Youth Day in Madrid that has been almost universally ignored by the secular media. The first story to finally appear was in The New York Times and it was about the protests against WYD.

Since when is it not news that more than a million young people came from around the world to be in the same place with their religious leader and to express their solidarity in the beliefs of a Church?

I’ll tell you why the story is being ignored.  It’s because these were pilgrims of peace. They did nothing wrong. They sang and prayed and knelt in adoration. They rejoiced and danced and when a torrential rain fell on them in the field, they whooped it up and thanked God for relief from the heat. When mean-spirited protestors screamed in their faces, they responded with hymns and the Rosary.

Our secular culture does not support such behavior. Instead, we prefer to shake our heads and wring our hands over murder, riots, natural disasters and political turmoil. We say we want more positive news but we get excited only when there is bloodshed and conflict.

The message of World Youth Day is that there is hope. Young people still will respond to peace and love if it is presented to them. They did so in Madrid and they will do it again in 2013 when they reunite in Rio de Janeiro, proving that they are ready to take the reigns of leadership in the future Church.

World Youth Day was an initiative of Pope John Paul II who knew that young people wanted something challenging and exciting.  He knew their aspirations and he reached out. They responded with massive presences at the 12 gatherings that have been held to date.
Pope Benedict XVI told the young folk that religion is not about knowing all the rules and regulations but rather it is a commitment of one’s life to love and service of others.

He challenged them to do more and to share the faith.  What was the reaction?  The more than one million in attendance cheered.  They chanted “Benedicto! Benedicto!”

The scenes broadcast on The NET were impressive.  The music that accompanied the liturgies was outstanding.  The crowds were energized by the presence of the pope, their father in the faith.

After the wondrous papacy of John Paul II, many wondered if Benedict XVI could recapture the imagination of the youth.  The answer, at least, from watching and reading about World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid is clearly a resounding yes.

Thanks to so many staffers at The NET who worked overtime and on the weekend to make the WYD coverage possible.  It was a challenging job but worth every minute.

Also a big thanks to the more than 600 delegates and their chaperones and the religious from Brooklyn and Queenswho made the trip to Madrid.  They made us proud with their energy and enthusiasm.