YOUTH MATTERS: Hug a Police Officer
By Sam Clear, Director of the Office of Youth Evangelisation
As the Tasmanian delegation of 35 pilgrims prepares to depart for World Youth Day Lisbon, the Archdiocese and Catholic Education Tasmania have been working with pilgrims to help them make the most of the pilgrimage through Rome, the World Youth Day week in Lisbon, and the final retreat in Fatima.
As we prepare for our journey I have been reflecting on my experiences at previous World Youth Days, and in particular, Sydney 2008.
We often discuss the importance of World Youth Day for the pilgrims, and over the years I’ve heard some fantastic stories of conversion from pilgrims who headed to World Youth Day ‘for a look’ and found themselves encountering Christ.
It’s important to note though, that it’s not just the pilgrims who are affected.
In 2008 I had just arrived home in Australia after walking for Christian unity and was lined up as a guest speaker at World Youth Day events across Sydney.
After ‘roughing it’ for nearly two years I was more than happy to have a far more luxurious World Youth Day compared to the 500,000 pilgrims in attendance, as I was put up in a very nice hotel overlooking Barangaroo.
One morning, as I prepared for the day ahead, I flicked the news on to watch the World Youth Day coverage.
The breakfast show presenters crossed live to one of the NSW heads of police and asked him how the police were coping with 500,000 youth roaming the streets, and keeping order.
The officer laughed, before replying with a smile, “No, you have to understand, my officers deal with the worst of humanity every day.
This week though, all they’ve done is receive hugs. A few have commented to me that it has restored their faith in humanity. It has been very healing for them.”
Our everyday journey through life should be similar, bringing joy, love, and healing into the lives of those we meet.
In the Gospel of John (John 17:23) sits one of the most impactful verses on my life, as Jesus prayed for us, “I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me”.
How do those we meet this day walk away from us? Does life continue as though our meeting hadn’t happened? Do they walk on angered? Or do they encounter healing?