At Exeter University...

...a warm welcome from the Cathsoc. A beautiful and reverent Mass at the Catholic Chaplaincy, strong young voices making the responses, lots of young people receiving Communion with great reverence.  A lively buzz of talk in the bar, and then a full hall for the talk. Topic was the Church's understanding of the importance of why we are male and female, with specific input from the teaching of St John Paul.

St JP's Theology of the Body  was prophetic in its importance ...there is now such cruel and nasty nonsense being promoted on this subject and Christians need to be equipped to challenge the lies,and inspire people with the truth and beauty of the fullness of what it means to be human, and how marvellously we are made...

A happy  evening A particular pleasure to meet the delightful daughter of friends...I was a babysitter for the family when she and her siblings were small!  And here she is as a delightful young lady - beautiful and charming, and it was a delight to chat and catch up with news...

Today's young Catholics in Britain face  a militant atheism which forges strong alliances with forms of political-correctness where the Christian viewpoint is routinely marginalised or insulted. In a modern university, most of the students will have little or no working knowledge of the Christian faith - for this reason much of the West's art and literature baffles them - and young Catholics who do have this knowledge and perspective are often treated as weird. Lecturers,  and the general voice of officialdom, tend to  assume opposition to Catholic teaching - especially on sex and relationships - to be the norm and too often fail to acknowledge any alternative view. The work of a Catholic chaplaincy - and a lively Catholic Society with good speakers and access to plenty of opportunities to meet, talk, read,study, debate, take part in events and conferences etc - is crucial. Input from groups such as the Faith Movement  are important, and the solidarity fostered by events such as World Youth Day and Youth 2000 is of great value.