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Udupi : Udupi Deanery level Yuva Samagam 2017 organized by ICYM Unit of Moodubelle was held in St. Lawrence PU College Hall, Moodubelle on Sunday, 30 July 2017 from 9.30 am to 5.15 pm. The Yuva Samagam comprised of daylong programmes including inauguration, Youth Catechism (Youcat), Holy Mass, Cultural programmes and valedictory function. Around 200 youth from 9 parishes included in the Udupi Deanery participated in the Yuva Samagam 2017. 

The Yuva Samagam 2017 was formally inaugurated by lighting the lamp by the chief guest, Fr. Denis D’Sa, PRO of Udupi Diocese and Parish Priest of St. Antony’s Church, Kuntalnagar and the dignitaries on the dais including Fr. Clement Mascarenhas- Parish Priest of St. Lawrence Church, Moodubelle, Fr. Lawrence Cutinha-Assisstant Parish Priest and Director of ICYM, Moodubelle as well as Udupi Deanery, Fr. Rockwin Pinto-Professor in St. Joseph’s Seminary, Mangalore, Vincent Fernandes and Mrs. Latha D’Mello-Vice President and Secretary of Parish Pastoral Council respectively, Mrs. Anitha Alva and Valerian Noronha-Animators of ICYM Moodubelle, Dion D’Souza-President of Udupi Deanery level ICYM, Vinod D’Souza and Seema D’Souza-President and Secretary of ICYM Moodubelle respectively. 

In his message, Fr. Denis D’Sa said that usually the notion about the youth is that they are a bunch of  fun seeking persons always fond of entertainment. However, the notion is gradually changing as the youth have been taking a new direction towards positive aspects in life such as seriousness in study, attending retreats, going on pilgrimage and participating in spiritual endeavours. 

Fr. Denis D’Sa stressed upon the importance of the Youth Catechism (Youcat) in modern times and narrated its evolution. Youcat  is a 2011 publication that aims to be an aid for youth to better understand the ‘Catechism of the Catholic Church’. The book, drafted in the form of a conversation, is intended for use by Catholic youths around the world and is available in 25 languages, including Arabic and Chinese. Youcat is based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1997) and the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2005). The catechism has 304 pages and consists of four chapters with 527 questions and answers. The foreword was written by Pope Benedict XVI. Approximately 700,000 copies of Youcat were distributed in thirteen different languages on behalf of the Pope during World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid.

Youcat began in 2006 under the directio of Viennese Cardinal Christophr Schönborn by German-speaking theologians, religious educators and priests with the participation of over sixty young people, who helped to improve the readability of the text by raising questions and coming up with illustrative pictures.

The first edition was published in German on 25 March 2011. It was then published in fourteen other languages. Overall, the Youth Catechism was slated to have been published in 30 languages by the end of 2012. Over 2 million copies have been sold. The YOUCAT explains the following:  What Catholics believe and why (doctrine). How Catholics celebrate the mysteries of the faith (sacraments).How Catholics are to live (moral life). How they should pray (prayer and spirituality).

Fr. Clement Mascarenhas appreciated the work done by the iCYM members of Moodubelle in organizing the Yuva Samagam 2017 and giving an opportunity to the youth of the Udupi Deanery to have the rich experience of the Youcat. 

Vinod D’Souza, President of ICYM Moodubelle welcomed the gathering, Seema D’Souza, Secretary proposed the vote of thanks, Sharlin D’Almeida introduced the resource person of the day, Fr. Rockwin Pinto and Melisha Rebello and Vijay D’Souza compeered the inaugural programme.

Soon after the inaugural function, Felina D’Souza, former Secretary of ICYM Udupi Deanery conducted few warm up dances. Thereafter, the participating ICYM members were divided into ten groups and Fr. Rockwin Pinto conducted the Youth Catechism(Youcat) through power point presentation and group discussions. 

After the Holy Mass and lunch, the ICYM members once again assembled in the hall at 2.30 pm for the cultural programme competition. Each of the 9 parishes was assigned 10 minutes during which they were required to present a skit on contemporary issues and a dance. The judges were Fr. Vijay D’Souza, Assistant Parish Priest of Udupi, Fr. Jaison Pais (OFM Cap) from Assisi Nilaya, Moodubelle and Melcom Lewis from Sasthan. 

The ICYM groups from different parishes presented skits on contemporary issues such as adverse effects of bad company, social communication, and rumour mongering. Other topics included environment,  demonetization, Sunday Catechism Class, impact of inter-religious marriage, etc. The dances were centred around the folklore of Goa, especially the ‘mando’. 

Soon after the end of the competition, valedictory function was held. Fr. Valerian Mendonsa-Parish Priest of Mother of Sorrows Church, Udupi and Dean of Udupi Varado presided over the valedictory function. Other dignitaries on the dais included Fr. Royson Fernandes-Assistant Parish priest of St. John the Evangelist Church, Shankerpura and former Director of Udupi Deanery ICYM, Fr. Vijay D’Souza, Fr. Denis D’Sa, Fr. Clement Mascarenhas, Fr. Lawrence Cutinha,  Fr. Roque D’Souza-Parish Priest of St. Francis Xavier Church, Udyavar, Fr. Ronson-Parish Priest of Katapadi, Fr. Jaison Pais(OFM Cap), Sharlin D’Sa-President of Udupi Diocese ICYM, Vincent Fernandes, Dion D’Souza and Shiny Alva-Secretary of Udupi Deanery ICYM. 

Bishop Gerald Isaac Lobo paid a brief visit to the venue of the Yuva Samagam 2017 and addressing the ICYM members complimented them for participating in such an event.  He said that besides the Youcat, the church has brought out Docat and Youth Bible which would help the youth to deepen their faith. He made an appeal to the youth to register their names in voters list and also to check whether their names are included in the list or not. Further, the Bishop stressed upon the youth the need to aspire for government service in order to serve the community better and also to take up competitive examinations to better their prospects. 

On this occasion, Fr. Royson Fernandes who was the Director of Udupi Deanery ICYM last year was felicitated by the dignitaries on the dais.

In his message, Fr. Royson said that there are three valuable treasures that the youth have to seek and preserve-Jesus Christ, Faith and the youth themselves. He appreciated the ICYM Unit of Moodubelle  for organizing the Yuva Samagam 2017. 

Four ICYM members from different parishes were honoured for their excellent achievement. These included-Valita of Kuntalnagar, Ancita of Moodubelle, Onil Andrade of Kalmady and Rosalia of Udyavar.

The office bearers of last year who were felicitated on this occasion included Wilfred(animator), Vinyl D’Souza(President) and Janet D’Silva (Secretary) 

In his presidential message, Fr. Valerian Mendonca said that the ancestors who had survived the captivity of Tipu Sultan had spread across different regions of former South Canara and rebuilt their faith and passed it on to the next generation and so on. In order to promote the faith among the youth, the Youcat has been devised after a lot of thought and work. He made an appeal to the youth not only to have the knowledge but also manifest this faith in their day to day life. He pointed out the evil effects of the social media and said that the gadgets do not respond to our relationship. It is essential for the youth to have good friends who would stand by them in success as well as in failure and support them positively. 

Fr. Denis D’Sa announced the winners of the cultural programme competition. 

The ICYM Team from Mother of Sorrows Church, Udupi were the winners and the ICYM Team from Stella Maris Church, Kalmady were the runners up. 

Dion D’Souza welcomed the gathering; Shiny Alva proposed the vote of thanks and Edna Menezes compeered the valedictory programme.