By Michael Rothfeld
Newsday
August 22, 2004

The dark skies opened as Sarah Hart stood at the microphone in the big tent, pelting it with a violent downpour, and she paused from singing and telling stories about her faith to consider the outburst from above.

Then, just as suddenly, the hundreds of young people seated in the tent burst out in a thunderous round of applause.

That moment typified the enthusiastic spirit yesterday at YouthFest 2004, the first such event held by the Diocese of Rockville Centre to strengthen the bonds between young Catholics and the church. More than 1,000 people attended, diocesan officials said, including dozens of priests.

"You hear a lot about the church in the paper today," said Patricia Ahl, 14, who was manning a booth with information about her school, St. John the Baptist in West Islip. "But if you really look at what the church teaches, it's not what's in the paper. Stuff like this shows you what the church is about."

Bishop William Murphy strolled the grounds of the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Lloyd Harbor, the site of the youth day. All the diocese's priests are trained on the bucolic 200-acre property.

Murphy said he had wanted a day for the youth ever since members of the diocese traveled to Toronto two years ago for World Youth Day with Pope John Paul II. Yesterday's event was planned to fall exactly one year before the next World Youth Day, scheduled for Aug. 21, 2005, in Cologne, Germany.

"The purpose is to bring young people of faith together so they can affirm their faith in Jesus, they can share that faith together and they can build a sense of being church on Long Island," Murphy said.

Murphy, who celebrated the concluding Mass yesterday, said the event was not an effort to restore trust in the wake of the priest abuse scandals that have shaken Catholics on Long Island and across the country.

"I don't think the trust has been lost," he said. "I'm constantly trying to deal with survivors. We're doing our best at that, but that doesn't control the whole life of the church."

Chris Ervin, of St. Rosalie's Church in Hampton Bays, said the scandals "made us stronger as a Christian community," as he munched on a hamburger and took shelter from the rain.

Now, "we all stick together," he said.

In tents and around the seminary building, those who attended talked in "breakout" sessions about subjects such as bullying, violence, respect and child labor in the Third World.

They prayed, confessed, and sang. At one point, musicians performed Haitian and Latin rhythms together. Hart, a songwriter and performer from Nashville, Tenn., was a keynote speaker.

"Happy, happy, joy, joy. Happy, happy, joy, joy, joy," she sang, as Hart's audience jumped and clapped.

Nancy Cadet, 20, a member of the Haitian Youth Ministry at St. Anne's Church in Brentwood, said she liked the chance to see old friends from World Youth Day in Toronto and to "keep the faith."

"As young people, we have a lot of temptations out there," she said.

GRAPHIC: Newsday photos/Dick Yarwood-1) Catholic young people browse the many organization tables at YouthFest 2004 in Lloyd Harbor