February 7, 2013. (Romereports.com) Every two years the Pontifical Council for Culturemeets for their plenary assembly. This time around, youth culture took center stage, quite literally, to kick off the gathering to the sound of rock music.
The Vatican is convinced that to reach young people, they must first learn about their culture. As a start, the Pontifical Council for Culture invited the rock band The Sun to kick off the plenary assembly with a concert, as well as their personal story of conversion. Despite the tough crowd, their music eventually won them over.
FRANCESCO LORENZI Vocalist, The Sun “We had let ourselves get carried away by the excesses of a musician's life, so alcohol, drugs, women and at the end that tour, when we returned home, we were empty inside. The absurd thing was to see that this was our greatest moment professionally, but inside we had created a void. We didn't speak to each other, and above all we lacked inspiration. That's how we began asking the bigger questions, who are we, where are we, what do I want from me? Why do I want to be a musician? Which I've always wanted to be, but I'm not happy. I began to think about church, thanks to advice from my mother, who invited me to go to a class with her. It had been 10 years since I had been at church.”
Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, the president for the Pontifical Council for Culture, assures that getting to know the youth is also getting to know the future and direction of where modern society is headed. CARD. GIANFRANCO RAVASI President, Pontifical Council for Culture “For this reason it is necessary for us to understand music and language which can transmit several dimensions that the simple word cannot. It is different music than what I am used to. I have tried to listen to the albums of Amy Winehouse, but I'm really far off. Although within them there is also that wish for authenticity, of truth, of significance.”
The members of The Sun greeted the Pope and gave him as a gift their most recent album. So it is quite possible, in the future, to hear some rock music within the halls of the Apostolic Palace.
February 7, 2013. (Romereports.com) Every two years the Pontifical Council for Culture
