Many of our young people are uprooted.  They no longer believe in the traditions of their parents and grandparents, and they have not found anything else to replace them.  Spiritual leaders need to address this very real issue, but most simply do not know what to do.  They have not been able to transmit the deepest values of their traditions, perhaps because they themselves have not fully understood or experienced them.  When a priest does not embody the living values of a tradition, he or she cannot transmit them to the next generation.  He can only wear the outer garments and pass along the superficial forms.  When the living values are absent, rituals and dogmas are lifeless, rigid, and even oppressive.  Combined with a lack of understanding of people's real needs and a general lack of tolerance, it is little wonder that the young feel alienated within these institutions.

• dogma
• religion
• tolerance
• tradition
• parents
• understanding