Pro-life in JY: Jesus Youth is Youth for Life (BJRE027)


Pro-life in JY: Jesus Youth is Youth for Life

(By Dr. Edward Edezhath - Published in Kairos Magazine in 2019)

The time was mid-1990, and this young doctor was a regular visitor to my place. Her weekly day off was on Tuesdays, and we would meet to discuss her dreams. Pro-life work was Dr Sindhu’s passion; she had quite an ingenious approach to promoting this positive awareness. She would gather groups of youth, prepare promotional materials, and engage in anti-abortion and pro-life campaigns. She had a well-made set of pro-life exhibition materials she used to keep at my place, which youth from near and far used to take to conduct awareness sessions.  In brief, hers was a tactic of ‘learning by doing,’ or a hands-on approach to learning, and this creative method was helping so many youth groups to take up a strong stand for protecting life. Jesus Youth has always been pro-life, but Sindhu’s initiatives could bring a new focus and fervor in the movement’s ministry to protect life. 

The life and teachings of Pope John Paul II had an immense influence on the Jesus Youth movement. It was in 1878 that the first major effort to network young people in the Renewal movement started, which eventually became Jesus Youth, and it was in the same year that the saintly Pope commenced his papacy. No wonder the movement is deeply indebted to the vision and spirituality of that saintly pope, especially on the perception of the modern-day ‘culture of death’ and its possible solutions.  Naturally, pro-life concerns have been central to the various activities of the movement.

Pro-life Dynamics in JY

“What are some of the distinguishing marks of JY?” I asked a group of teenagers. “JY families have a lot of children, and many do homeschool.” This discussion was in the US, so homeschooling emerged because it is a growing trend. However, a large family is surely a character of Jesus Youth in most parts of the world. What best practices promote pro-life attitudes in the Jesus Youth movement?

1. Commit to knowing and living God’s will: Forming an active Christian conscience is central to the Jesus Youth movement. This often starts with an encounter experience and continues through various faith-formation efforts. Two important thoughts that should guide the life of an active Christian are, firstly, asking, ‘What is God’s will for my life?’ and secondly, a firm decision, ‘I don’t want to do what is not pleasing to God.’  Perhaps the foundation of the pro-life attitude in the movement is this continuous practical faith formation that goes on in its prayer groups, retreats, and formation programs. 

2. Shining models: These days, we often hear that young people go astray because they lack good role models. However, in Jesus Youth circles, one very positive thing is that plenty of individuals and families are committed to safeguarding life. There are numerous families with six, seven, or more children. There are so many in the movement who, even at great risk to their own lives, decided not to have an abortion. In Jesus Youth groups, most people know these ordinary heroes and joyfully talk about them. In all the gatherings of Jesus Youth, the radiating joy of big families is a visible presence. No wonder the new generation wants to follow these good examples. 

3. Anti-abortion input: Whenever the Rex Band staged their public concerts, there has been this very captivating solo presentation by Beena, ‘The Cry of the Unborn,’ a fetus killed in the womb of its mother narrating the harrowing experience with a musical refrain “Let me live.” Over the past three decades, through hundreds of Rex Band shows, innumerable people have witnessed this ‘voice of the unborn’, and almost everyone has been moved to tears watching that deeply touching presentation. Leo’s short film ‘Tree of Life’ was another very effective media initiative in Jesus Youth that highlighted the pro-life message. The pro-life exhibition has become integral to all major Jesus Youth programs. In all JY circles, the message is loud and clear that from the moment of conception, human life is sacred and that any attempt against it is surely a heinous crime. 

4. JY Healthcare professionals: Doctors and Nurses networks are active in Jesus Youth. JY groups in medical colleges and nursing schools have become effective nurseries, forming committed pro-lifers. No wonder the movement has enough resource persons to conduct excellent pro-life sessions, as many doctors and nurses emerge as excellent healthcare professionals and committed guardians of life. The wider church circles naturally depend on Jesus Youth’s input for effective pro-life campaigns. 

5. Different creative initiatives: When Shalini, an active Jesus Youth, got elected as the Chairperson of the city’s famous college, she persuaded her union leaders to take up ‘Life’ as the theme of their year-long activities. The college witnessed some very special programs that year with strong pro-life messages. In another place, a series of webinars on the theme of pro-life was organized by a group of Jesus Youth. Prayer campaigns, poster-making sessions, street plays, and a variety of other innovative approaches have been tried by enthusiastic JY groups to communicate to their colleagues and friends the message of the importance of safeguarding life. 

In Jesus Youth, there is also a dedicated Prolife Ministry that focuses on spiritual campaigns, imparting pro-life training, arranging counselling for the needy, and preparing trained personnel and groups for interventions of different sorts. But what is most noteworthy in the movement is the general culture of pro-life that prevails throughout and a very positive attitude that it can build among other young people, not looking at pro-life work as something strange and exceptional but as a sign of being a loving and joyful Christian.  

 = Pointers for Reflection =
1. Why pro-life work is important for Jesus Youth?
2. What are some signs of 'the culture of death' you see around you?
3. What are some of the pro-life works that you are familiar with?
4. Prepare a few suggestions for making your groups more pro-life.

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