ARTICLES

It Was Good While it Lasted

The Story of the Mission Young Adults Group

BY ROBERT KUMPEL

In 1991, faithful young Catholics in San Diego County had few options for fellowship. At that time Catholic Answers had just hired a marketing director from Philadelphia named Matt Pinto. Twenty-four at the time, Pinto had a degree in radio, television and film from Temple University. "I was on the receiving end of a dynamic young adult ministry in Philadelphia," he recalls, "and I saw the great good that could come from getting reached where you were, in those key formative young-adult years."

Upon arrival in San Diego, Pinto began searching for a central parish. He chose Mission San Diego and approached its then pastor, Monsignor I. Brent Eagan, with his plan. "The Old Mission had a certain character and I was attracted to its beauty. Its location was central and Monsignor Eagan was very open to the original vision. I came to him with a business plan that laid out the speakers, social justice outreach, and social activities. We agreed that I would run any speaker or topic by him that might be of concern. I arrived in March and on Wednesday, November 11, 1991 we were ready for our first Wednesday night meeting."

After placing notices in the parish bulletin and approaching young adults at Mass, 30 people showed up at La Sala (the Old Mission's auditorium) for the first meeting. The topic was "Proud to be Catholic." Within a few weeks, Wednesday nights in La Sala grew more crowded and the average turnout was soon 65 people. Some meetings had 100 to 200 people, which eventually forced the group to meet in the California Room at the parish's St. Francis Center. Pinto employed a strategy of varying the topics and speakers and balancing socializing with spirituality and outreach.

Talk and discussion topics included pro-life issues, defending the Catholic faith, the Divine Mercy devotion, how to handle Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses, why the Church forbids contraception, homosexuality, exorcism, G.K. Chesterton. Speakers included Fr. Paul Marx, founder of Human Life International, Fr. Frank Pavone, founder of Priests for Life, apologist Patrick Madrid, several diocesan priests, nuns, and ministry leaders as well as Bishop Brom.

Mission Young Adults' greatest impact may have been in its social justice outreach. Members helped to build houses in Tijuana, serving meals to the poor, visiting the elderly at nursing homes, and aiding facilities for unwed mothers. Members of the pro-life outreach prayed the rosary in front of abortion clinics each Saturday while another group prayed simultaneously in front of the Blessed Sacrament at the Mission. Pinto says. "We wanted to make sure that we were serving the parish that was supporting us. We got involved as best we could as lectors and ushers. We ran a number of functions each year, such as a booth at the parish bazaar. We wanted to give back to the parish that was so good to us."

Another legacy of the group is the number of marriages among its members. Pinto met his wife, Maryanne, at a meeting. "I was the first member engaged and the second one married," he boasts, "I think there have been about 20 marriages from the group. To my knowledge, they are all strong marriages that are in accord with the full Catholic teaching, which is nothing short of miraculous in this day and age. As Christopher West says wonderfully, telling people not to use birth control is like telling people they shouldn't use deodorant. It's just seen as a modern convenience."

Two memories are particularly special for Pinto. First, he remembers the Pope's 1993 visit to Denver for World Youth Day. "About 30 of us went together to see the Holy Father. I was also proud of how so many young adults would readily admit that they knew very little about their faith, yet in six to nine months they were leading discussions at the family dinner table on some Catholic teaching and really becoming witnesses in the world.

Pinto says the key to the Mission group's success was balance between fun and education. "I loved the way we could have a clear presentation of the Catholic faith and balance it with just living life. We could have a really serious, highbrow topic, and a half-hour later, 45 of us were out at the pub."

Pinto recalls an anecdote from Bishop Brom that makes his point. "I remember a talk from Bishop Brom. He told us that he asked the pope for a definition of a fanatic. The pope told him a fanatic was someone who saw one piece of the pie as the whole pie. I took that to heart and I really wanted to make sure that the group was balanced and that its expression wasn't just learning, wasn't just social, and wasn't just social justice. We wanted the proper Catholic approach to life that used all of God's instruments to reach out to people in need."

Many current and former members liked the balance the group offered but were especially drawn by its educational side. Bob Conover, who met his wife Celeste at one of the Wednesday night meetings, said, "The speakers they had on Wednesday nights were always very good, taught me a lot, and helped form my Catholic beliefs and strengthened my faith."

Louis Lento, another former member agrees. "I was drawn to its emphasis on faith education rather than just social activities."

Greg Cranham, who served as the education coordinator explains, "Most young adult groups are typically social organizations, with an emphasis on fellowship; that of course is fine as far as it goes. Matt Pinto's approach, however, as it was implemented in MYA, set out from the start to be more comprehensive, and to keep as its primary focus the spiritual and educational growth of the group's members."

Cynde Wallace, who joined the group with her husband William, when he was transferred to San Diego, liked the uncompromising spirit of the group. "I think what attracted us to the Mission Young Adult group was the focus on the truth, not socialization — although that was a great by-product. The speakers explained doctrine in a straightforward way without watering it down. I think the Holy Spirit led a group of good young adults who were searching for the truth to the mission and we just soaked it up like sponges. I learned more from our two years with the group than I did in 12 years of Catholic schooling."

Patrick Sullivan thinks the group lasted so long for one reason: "The spiritual dimension which we got from starting it with the Rosary every night. This held it together for a long time." Under Pinto's leadership and for the first two years after his departure in 1996, the group functioned smoothly. "We never had one single inter-group controversy that I know of in that first five or six years," Pinto says, "including the people who followed after me. I used to tell the core group that we could not be divided. I just refused to have controversies."

In July of 2004, the Mission Young Adults stopped meeting. Seven different members who were involved with planning and ministry for the group were contacted and all refused to discuss why the parish had shut the group down, though every one expressed hope that they could start another young adult group in the near future. Mort Curlewski (not his real name) mirrored the thoughts of the others: "The Mission Young Adults did a lot of good and met a lot of our needs in a very unique way. We really want to see a young adult group start up again at the Mission and none of us want to do anything to jeopardize that."

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