Young people newly open to the Catholic faith must be engaged with and led to participate in the Church, a Bishop has said.

Bishop Michael Router, Auxiliary Bishop of Armagh, was commenting on a recent report from the bishops called ‘The Turning Tide?’ which used polling data from the Iona Institute and the European Social Survey, showing that there is an ‘uptick’ in interest in faith among members of ‘Gen Z’.

The study by Professor Stephen Bullivant of Saint Mary’s University, London, and Emily Nelson of Queen’s University, Belfast, suggests more young adults are seeking meaning, belonging, and purpose. In many cases they are encountering faith through online engagement in podcasts and videos.

This search for faith and belonging provides the Church with an opportunity, the bishop said.

“Many young people and families are often absent from our communities not through disinterest but through a slow disconnection over time.  We need to create spaces of engagement to counter this, but belonging must not be reduced to mere activities or social gatherings.  It should lead young people and families into real participation in the Church’s mission and to discover their baptismal identity as co-responsible disciples”.