"The success of New Age offers the Church a challenge. People feel the Christian religion no longer offers them - or perhaps never gave them - something they really need. The search which often leads people to the new Age is a genuine yearning: for a deeper spirituality, for something which will touch their hearts and for a way of making sense of a confusing and often alienating world, the pontifical councils for interreligious dialogue and for culture said in a study/reflection paper released in February. Title "Jesus Christ: the Bearer of the Water of Life," the paper presents an overview of New Age thought and practices, discusses the Christian response to this phenomenon and compares New Age and Christian spirituality...

...A central question to ask is just what spirituality means in a New Age context, the study paper says. It continues: "Some versions of New Age harness the powers of nature and seek to communicate with another world to discover the fate of individuals, to help individuals tune in to the right frequency to make the most of themselves and their circumstances. In most cases, it is completely fatalistic. Christianity, on the other hand, is an invitation to look outward and beyond, to the "new Advent’ of the God who calls us to live the dialogue of love,: the papers says....

(VIS) - Pope John Paul's Message for the 18^th World Youth Day, to be celebrated in dioceses throughout the world on Palm Sunday 2003, was published March 11. The Pope noted that the theme he chose, "Behold your Mother!" is linked to the Year of the Rosary which he proclaimed on October 16, 2002. The Pope stated that Mary, "the Mother of God from the first moment of the Incarnation, became the Mother of men at the last moments of the life of her Son Jesus."

The Pope told young people to remember that they are never alone and can turn to Mary when they suffer "the solitude, failures and delusions in personal life, difficulties in becoming part of the adult and professional world, separations and deaths in families, the violence of wars and the death of innocent people."

John Paul II urged youth to be Christians always and everywhere because "Christianity is not an opinion. ... It is Christ! He is a Person, He is Living!" He entreated them to get to know and love Christ through Mary, and by reciting the Rosary. "Don't be ashamed to recite it alone, on the way to school, the university or work, on the street or in public transportation; recite it among yourselves, in groups, movements, and associations, and don't hesitate to suggest praying it at home."

...In this time threatened by violence, hatred and war, give witness that only He can give true peace to the hearts of men, to families and to the peoples of the earth."