Event drew 1,500 from across Alberta

Several came from neighbouring provinces

By RAMON GONZALEZ
WCR Staff Writer
Edmonton

They came from all across Alberta, including some from British Columbia, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories. The event was sponsored by the Alberta Conference of Catholic Bishops, all of whom were present, and the Alberta Catholic School Trustees' Association.

"It was a great success. In particular I had a great time with the young people," said Archbishop Thomas Collins, who opened the conference March 8 at St. Joseph's Basilica and held a dialogue with youth the next day. "They posed extremely profound questions."

"I had a great time with the young people." - Archbishop Thomas Collins

The conference featured plenary sessions with speakers Pam Stenzel of Minnesota, Bishop Gerard Wiesner of Prince George, B.C., and Calgary Bishop Fred Henry. There were also more than 20 smaller sessions on a variety of topics.

The youth also heard testimonies from professional athletes, held a dialogue with the archbishop, listened to local musician Mark Mallet, took part in a Christian rock concert and participated in a musical storytelling of the Gospel of Mark. Other performers at the youth program included Youth Alive, a local ensemble of rock music and dancers.

The archbishop answered questions on women priests, celibacy, life and death and the Apocalypse. After the session, he said he plans to answer several questions left unanswered due to lack of time.

"I'm impressed with the depth of the questions," he commented.

Calgary Bishop Fred Henry, who closed the conference March 10, raised eyebrows with his criticism of the war on terrorism.

"The key (to ending terrorism) is to address the root causes that create this fertile soil in which disinherited and disillusioned people are recruited into terrorism," he said. Henry was applauded repeatedly throughout his speech.

Conference organizer John Acheson called the remarks a "challenge to all Catholics that comes right out of the Gospel."

Derek Dyck, a Grande Prairie school trustee, was happy he attended. "It's good to get Catholics together from all over the province," he said. "I learned many things over the weekend that reaffirm my beliefs and open my mind to new ideas."

Barbara Meyers of Hinton called the conference "a great experience." "I enjoyed Bishop (Lawrence) Huculak's talk about the pope's visit to Ukraine."

Mike Oness, a 15-year-old from Okotoks, came to the conference after learning about it from a friend.

"It was a good experience," he said. "I learned a lot about my faith." He liked the testimonies from the athletes and Stenzel's speech on sex. "She is a good speaker. I think I'll stay put until marriage."

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