In recent times, I've heard mixed messages from young people
telling me they don't have anything to do and older people
concerned they can't go out on the streets at night.
From England to Australia, who is the next saint for youth?
Italy has over one thousand saints.
England has one hundred and seventy.
Australia only has one. In fact, most countries have a
lot of catching up to do to equalize with saint-making of the
Italians. Has the search for role models been neglected?
Youth don't need new phones each year as much as they appear to
need new role models.
With the recent canonization of
Carlo Acutis, it looks like the
Catholic church has realized there is a huge void to be filled.
But one new saint may not be enough.
From the east of England to the goldfields of Victoria, reflection
on the subject of contemporary saints is just as important as
buying new kit for the police but far cheaper.
A recent CNN report suggests it only costs a few hundred thousand
US dollars to get somebody sainted. Each new police water cannon costs
over a million.
Saint-making is not only for those who are religiously-minded
Anybody can look at the public criteria published by religious
institutions and see if somebody they know of might qualify for
formal sainthood. If you believe somebody has been overlooked, don't
hesitate to draw attention to their cause.
Video: my recommendation for a saint
Who would you canonize and why?
I've researched one possible saint for the new video.
Tara Hubber was a very active member of our rowing club. We were
the last generation to benefit from a clean and healthy childhood
without being part of the social media experiment that children
grow up in today. The video compares the
messages from the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries about sainthood
with the challenges of today's youth.