In a society in which the dignity of each person is at times dismissed, service opportunities have the potential to reshape the worldview of the youth, said Stuart Hamilton, the Archdiocese of Louisville’s pro-life event coordinator, in a recent interview.
This generation often experiences the world through social media, Hamilton said. But media often “diminishes the value of people that are different than us,” he noted.
“People are made fun of, and sometimes they’re even demonized,” he said. “They’re not really seeing these people as humans when they’re watching a short reel making fun of them.”
Algorithms can further this problem, he said.
“If you’re watching something that’s critical of a particular kind of person, the computer just feeds you more of what you’re watching,” he said.
“What happens when you start to encounter people is that you begin to see them as human. They’re not just memes or jokes or a visual or an abstract idea. They’re actual people.”
— Stuart Hamilton, pro-life events coordinator
In the face of these challenges, real-life encounters with people can restore the belief in inherent human dignity, he said.
“What happens when you start to encounter people is that you begin to see them as human. They’re not just memes or jokes, or a visual or an abstract idea. They’re actual people,” he said.
That’s why the archdiocese’s pro-life ministries, part of the Office of Family and Life Ministries, is promoting youth service during October, Respect Life Month, Hamilton said.
The office is hosting youth service days — which include a tour of Little Way Pregnancy Center and service work at Catholic Charities — for parish youth groups on Oct. 25 and Catholic high schools on Oct. 15 and 29.
“The earliest experiences youth can have where they encounter these ideas with an actual service project, where they meet these people, I think that creates empathy, and it informs their worldview,” Hamilton said.
And the more consistently the youth engage in service experiences, the less likely it is that they will be “compromised by the culture at large,” he said.
For example, youth can receive catechesis on the dignity of individuals with disabilities, he said. But encountering someone with a disability “makes a fundamentally different impact on the human heart,” he said.
Then, when the youth hear about individuals being “advised to abort” a baby with disabilities, they will think, “Why would you do that? Why would you ever think that their worth is less valuable?” he said.
While opportunities such as food drives or fundraising for charities are important, it’s even more vital that youth are involved in volunteer experiences that require active involvement with those outside of their everyday lives, he noted.
“Although it is fundamental, necessary to do clothing drives and to raise funds for different ministries, it’s very important for youth to have an incarnational, authentic experience encountering people,” Hamilton said.
These real-life experiences can range from serving food to someone experiencing hunger to praying in front of an abortion clinic to visiting a nursing home, he said.
Parents, as the primary educators of their children, have an active part to play in providing opportunities for these encounters, he said.
“The children will model the values of their heart after their parents,” he said. If service is a priority to their parents, they will see its value, he said.
Parents shouldn’t rely on their children’s schools to instill the value of service, he said.
“Catholic education, parish ministry — we can only support values that are already ingrained in the child from the home,” said Hamilton, who also teaches theology at Trinity High School.
This can be a challenge, he noted.
“Before the digital revolution, parents were forced in some ways to find ways to help the children to stay busy, stay actively involved, stay engaged in the community,” he said. Now, it can be easy for parents to let their children stay busy on their phones, he said.
But parents should be asking themselves, “Well, how can I give my child a real-world experience that helps them encounter someone they don’t normally encounter?”
For example, a parent could take their child to volunteer at a pregnancy center or pray at a Mass for life, then discuss, “Why did we do that? Who are we helping?” he said.
A child may not initially be excited to participate in a volunteer experience, he noted. But they usually end the experience with a positive attitude about the encounter, he said.
After the encounter, parents and children should talk about the experience, he said. “It opens the door for why that value exists and to have a conversation about an uncomfortable topic.”
Other adults — from grandparents, to aunts and uncles, to parish leaders — have a part to play too, he said.
“Every adult needs to be concerned about helping the youth have these encounters so that they can really have a view of human life that reflects the values of Christ’s teaching,” he said.
“Youth will be more likely to retain their values and their faith if they have at least one adult, that is not their parents, supporting them in their values and their worldview and helping them experience those things. So for some, that’s a youth minister, some, it’s a grandparent, or an uncle,” he said.
Hamilton added that he’s hopeful for the next generation.
The youth are “hungry for truth and starving for connection,” he said. This gives him hope, he said, because “what they’re hungry for is the truth of Christ, and I think what they’re starving for is the connection with fellow men, which the church provides.”
For more resources or to contact the Office of Family and Life Ministries, call 636-0296 or email family@archlou.org. To contact Stuart Hamilton, or to receive a free subscription to the “Dignity of Life” e-newsletter, email shamilton@archlou.org.
