It has been less than 2 years since the Vatican gave its approval on wearing one's rosary around the neck. When I was a kid, it was considered a profane use of a holy item. Along came the pop star. U2's Bono and soccer favorite David Beckam began wearing rosaries around their necks. The kids who adore them followed suit.

During The Year of the Rosary, the Vatican agreed that wearing a rosary around one's neck could create excellent opportunities for dialog on the faith. They even created a special brochure for teens to have with them and hand out as needed.

Now we have a school that bans wearing rosaries around the neck because it MIGHT be construed as gang related.

Rosary Debate

From a Catholic news source we have a rather scary little article about actual twisting of one's faith by these kids.

Youth Gangs

To me, a rosary is a sign of one's faith. A reminder to "pray without ceasing" as the Bible advises us to do. Turn every thought, dream and wish to the Lord. Place it all in His hands.

Rosaries have a special place in my faith formation. Our whole lives are faith formation. I feel very sad for folks who miss that. Anyway... The rosary is a time to contemplate the sacrifice Jesus made for us. God Himself, come to live the human condition. The rosary is my traveling prayer book. It goes everywhere with me. I favor wrapping it around my wrist over wearing it around my neck. I can pray at any time. Even just looking at it I am reminded of how I feel when I connect with God.

That being the case, I think counseling and faith formation would help the situation. Tucking the rosary away isn't going to solve anything.