For many teenagers, confessing sins to a priest can be awkward and anxiety-inducing. It was for St. Matthew’s parishioner Matthew Furtado.
“I had always felt coerced to go as part of my religious education class, and that had associated confession with compulsion and anxiety,” he said.
But all that changed when Furtado, then in Grade 7, was invited by his cousins to Freedom, an annual youth event that aims to make the sacrament of reconciliation more accessible to young people. The church was packed with hundreds of teens praying, singing, participating in skits, and lining up for confession with about a dozen priests.
“Young people are longing for opportunities to express their faith with those the same age as them,” said Furtado, thinking back to the experience, now more than a decade ago.
“Although the nature of confessions makes them private, there is still something special about participating with other teens. Even just lining up together has always been a powerful symbol of a shared effort to live a sacramental life.”
Freedom was launched by the archdiocese’s Youth Ministry Office in 1999. Since then, organizers estimate at least 7,000 young people have arrived with heavy hearts and left with consciences wiped clean.
“We focus on celebrating the sacrament of reconciliation and making it less intimidating for teens,” said Clay Imoo, the associate director of the archdiocese’s ministries and outreach office.
Annually, 200-300 young people and 12-18 priests turn up for this “staple” event on the youth ministry calendar, said Imoo. This year’s Freedom will be held at St. Clare of Assisi Parish in Coquitlam Friday, March 8, starting at 7 p.m.
