Millions of Catholics from all over the world flocked to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to participate in World Youth Day (WYD) 2013, which started on July 23 and ended on July 28. The weeklong event not only marked Pope Francis’ First World Youth Day but also his first international trip since being elected.

Pope Francis was elected by the papal conclave last March 13. He is the first Pope from the Society of Jesus and the first who hails from the Southern Hemisphere.

In a speech given at Guanabara Palace on the first night of the WYD festivities, the Pope emphasized the importance of today’s youth, saying, “The youth are the window through which the future enters the world, thus presenting us with great challenges. Our generation will show that it can realize the promise found in each young person when we open up the space.”

Counting around three million in attendance, this year’s WYD was the 24th that the Catholic Church has organized since 1986.

Mess in the dioceses

Early in the week, the Pope urged young Catholics to shake up the Church by going out and spreading the faith. “I want a mess… I want trouble in the dioceses!” he said to Argentine pilgrims in WYD.

He wanted the so-called “mess” to come as a result of WYD, saying that the youth needed to take a more active part in the religious community. “I want to get rid of clericalism, the mundane, this closing ourselves off within ourselves, in our parishes, schools or structures,” he said in his native Spanish.

According to Raymund Pecho, one of the attendees, the response to the Pope’s speeches, particularly at the final mass on Copacabana beach, was “overwhelming.” He said, “The beach [was] literally shaking with screams and applause every time the Pope [said] something.”

Though he was not in attendance, pre-divinity track philosophy sophomore Earl Omega believes that Pope Francis is “challenging [us] to really take our faith seriously… We should respond by getting a clearer sense of our identity as Catholics and as Christians. Once we have [that], we can share it with the world.”

Both Pecho and Omega believe that the relationship between Pope Francis—and by extension, the whole Catholic Church—and the youth of today will change as a result of the events at WYD.

Omega adds that he believes WYD might give the Pope a better grasp of what the youth are facing today. “[This new understanding] might perhaps affect the direction he takes the Church in.”

No major reforms

Much of the Pope’s direction is influenced by the relatively recent scandals that have plagued the Catholic Church. Discussions of corruption and sex abuse scandals have been extensive and, most recently, the Church has been facing issues regarding the Vatican Bank.

On July 1, two managers resigned following the arrest of Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, who was accused of plotting to smuggle 20 million euros into Italy, according to Reuters. The bank has been blacklisted by the European Union for failing to comply with transparency standards.

“This means you are not sure if the money which is there is legal money or illegal money,” explains Fr. Pierre de Charentenay, a visiting professor at the Ateneo’s Political Science Department.

In an effort to rectify this, the Pope has made small-scale changes in policy. Last June, he formed a commission of five members—four prelates and a female professor—to oversee reform in the Bank.

Although optimistic about the measure, De Charentenay believes there are still no major reforms under Pope Francis so far. “So far, there’s no change. It’s the same guys around.”

OVERWHELMING SUPPORT. World Youth Day 2013 in Rio de Janeiro was attended by over three million Catholics.
Photo from HUFFINGTONPOST.CO.UK

Change in the Church

While Pope Francis still has much to do to rectify the scandals, he has been praised for the Church’s gradual shift towards a relatively more modern, open-minded perspective regarding certain issues.

“Pope Francis has been especially close to the young people in some unique ways since he was elected pope,” says Ben Mortel, another WYD attendee. Mortel attributes this to the Pope’s humility and simplicity, saying, “He uses different means, such as traditional speeches and the digital platform, to make his message known.”

The usage of his predecessor’s Twitter account, @Pontifex, has also been described as a departure from the “archaic” Church. “It is amazing how a very conservative institution, the Catholic Church, is using social media to connect to the young people today,” Pecho added.

In addition to this, Pope Francis recently expressed openness to homosexuality, particularly gay priests—an issue his predecessor was staunchly against. “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge them?” Pope Francis said in a press conference on the plane from Rio last July 29.

However, he remains conservative on some issues. According to De Charentenay, the Pope still shares some doctrinal points of view on priestly celibacy, anti-abortion and the ordination of women. “He’s a traditional theologian,” De Charentenay explains.

“John Paul II, in a definitive formulation, said that door [to female priests] is closed,” Francis said in the same press conference. However, he believed that the Church should have a deeper theology of women and a bigger role for them as well. “The Madonna is more important than the apostles and the Church herself is feminine, the spouse of Christ and a mother.”

What has primarily changed, De Charentenay says, is the Pope’s style. “He’s not starting with condemning people,” he explains. “[He’s] very open to everybody in their difference and with who they are.”

He cites in particular how Francis shuns the perks of the papacy, such as the Popemobile and red shoes, in favor of simplicity. “He insists on symbols of proximity to people… That’s changed everything.”