Weekend Seminar Taking a New Look at Catholicism

Graziano Marcheschi of Chicago wants to introduce people to alternatives to the traditional poker-faced prayer in a church pew. When he prays, it’s with a flying leap, a dip or a shimmy.

His seminar on liturgical dance is just one of the hundreds of workshops offered at the annual Religious Education Congress in Anaheim this weekend and is a testament to Catholicism’s push to reach out to youths.

“The theology expressed here is orthodox, but very alive,” he said of the bustling conference of 20,000 people at the Anaheim Convention Center, where he comes to swap ideas with other dancers and teach people that dance and prayer are not mutually exclusive. “This place tends not to be stuffy.”

Sponsored by the Los Angeles Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church, the annual conference was originally intended to be training for educators, but has expanded to attract lay people and clergy. Participants came from as far as Poland, Ireland and Jamaica, and some sessions have been held in Spanish and Vietnamese.

The coordinators have also pumped up their annual Youth Day, which featured a music jam and special workshops with such titles as “Praying With My Headphones.” Friday’s session wrapped up with a raucous rally.

“There was so much spirit in the arena,” said teenager Jaime Lepe of Chino. “It was awesome. People were clapping and singing.”

Several high-profile speakers are expected this weekend, including Sister Helen Prejean, the nun who was the inspiration for the movie “Dead Man Walking,” starring Susan Sarandon.

Also on the program are local Catholic leaders, including the Most Rev. Tod Brown, Bishop of Orange, and Cardinal Roger M. Mahony.

“If someone dropped a bomb on this place, the American Catholic Church would be gone,” said Marcheschi. “Anyone who’s anyone is here.”

Sessions are being held in the cavernous halls of the Convention Center, separated by cloth partitions. In addition, there is an exhibition hall filled with nearly 300 booths full of Christian wares and supplies. The spiritual swap meet included Virgin Mary rubber stamps, the Bible on CD-ROM, bamboo crucifixes, software for church administrators, cherub magnets and carved wooden creches.

Some of the merchandise and session topics clearly reflect Catholicism’s push to make the church more relevant to youth. Some sessions include: “Post-Abortion Aftermath: The Problem,” “Bridging the Media Gap: Keeping Up With Digital Children” and “The Psychology of Fundamentalism.”

On Friday, sessions on sex drew many young people who alternately laughed and fidgeted through the talks. One called “Intimacy: Key to a Healthy Sexuality,” by Bob Bartlett of Minnesota, drew a diverse crowd.

“It’s sad for me to watch people in marriages where sexuality isn’t a celebration,” he said. “Sex should be a celebration of an intimate committed relationship.”

Teenagers at the congress, like Lepe, said they think celibacy is the biggest issue facing Catholic youth today.

“Sex before marriage is a problem,” said Lepe, 14, adjusting the wire retainer on his teeth. “A lot of people don’t know what to do. There are so many temptations, you have to decide what you’re going to do.”