LifeTeen is fundamentally flawed
I wrote about LifeTeen here, on the Catholic Culture site.
I suppose it is possible that the Life Teen liturgy could be brought into conformity with the letter of the GIRM...Nevertheless, I think this movement is profoundly and fundamentally flawed because it does two things. First, it separates young persons at the most decisive stage of their lives from their families. Second, it panders to the teenager's inclination to live in a mentality of entertainment.
I realize parents are concerned about their young people keeping the faith, and when "everyone" is sending their kids to youth conferences, it seems hard to be that family that doesn't. But I urge parents to resist this failed system of youth ministry.
Fr. McTeigue has some good posts about the flaws of the "youth ministry" approach.
Young people are actually searching for meaning in tradition. They may seem diffident, but they need their family in the teen years just as much as in the toddler stage. We need to shed our 70s attachment to innovation and emotionalism and return to practices of the faith that don't fade or tarnish. From my article:
Moreover, the suggestion that today's parents are too distracted seriously underestimates their true longings. Most of them are anxiously, if ineptly, seeking a way to help their children find meaning. Although we might not agree that it takes a village to raise a child, it certainly takes a family, together with a Church and a community. If parents are not doing a good job, it is certainly not for lack of interest on God's part. Perhaps the lack is elsewhere.