LAOAG CITY, Philippines (UCAN) -- An officer of Laoag diocese's youth commission expressed "disappointment" they will not be sending any youth delegates to the 2008 World Youth Day (WYD) in Australia, after other dioceses reported how many they plan to send.

In late May, Michelle Alonzo, officer-in-charge of the Diocesan Youth Commission, noted a "lack of participation" of youth from her diocese based in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte province, 340 kilometers north of Manila.

She told UCA News only Bishop Sergio Utleg of Laoag has confirmed he will go to Sydney, where organizers expect 125,000 visitors to join Australians in the liturgical, catechetical and other events scheduled July 15-20.

Pope John Paul II instituted WYD as an annual observance in 1984, and international celebrations have been held every two or three years since then. This year's theme is: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses."

In a report posted on the CBCP News website (www.cbcpnews.com) of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, Father Conegunda Garganta, executive secretary of the Episcopal Commission on Youth, estimated the Philippine Church would send about 2,000 people.

Separate items posted on the site reveal that Davao archdiocese in the south is sending 61 delegates and Manila archdiocese is even helping 20 mainland Chinese participants go to the event.

Catholic youths in Laoag diocese told UCA News they want to join the pope and young Catholics from around the world, but they have no money for the trip and some parents would not allow them anyway.

The roundtrip airfare alone will cost a participant at least US$1,000, according to a primer on the WYD distributed in the diocese.

Fifteen-year-old Emely Lucas told UCA News, "I want to join WYD to enrich my spiritual life." She said she also would like to "get to know more friends from other countries," but her parents fear for her safety. Her family's income from selling produce in the market could not pay the expenses, she added.

Another Laoag Church member, Agnes Battulayan, said she too would not permit her daughter to participate. "At a young age, I cannot just send her to an international gathering without a guardian," the schoolteacher and mother of three told UCA News. She also pointed out the event is taking place during the Philippine school year, which starts in June, and parents do not want their children to miss classes.

Jonie Pablo, 16, told UCA News she, too, wants to join the gathering but does not want to waste the money her parents need to use for her schooling. They work on rice farms to support her education, the high-school student explained.

Laoag diocese covers Ilocos Norte, where 66 percent of 658,454 people are Catholics. Its parishes formed youth councils following the late Pope John Paul II's visit to the Philippines for the 1995 World Youth Day celebration in Manila.

About 300 parishioners 13-32 years old have enlisted in the councils, under the pastoral guidance of the Diocesan Youth Commission, but less than 30 core-group members at the St. William the Hermit Cathedral Parish join activities regularly.

In Alonzo's view, "lack of support from priests" contributes to generally "weak" participation of youth in Church activities. "Parish youth councils are very active in other dioceses because they get support from their priests," the youth commission head says.

She cited instances of youth groups proposing projects "and the priests just say there is no budget," so plans do not materialize. Parents are also wary because of "rumors" about misbehaving priests, she added.

According to Alonzo, youth who wish to join the Church's official WYD delegation need to be "endorsed" by their parish priests and must be active in parish youth activities to gain endorsement.

The youth commission head described screening for WYD 2008 as "stricter" than in the past, after at least two delegates did not return from previous international youth day celebrations.

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