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Youth urge Church to be authentic, supportive

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Three Lay Centre residents attend Vatican's pre-synodal meeting of young adults

Youth urge Church to be authentic, supportive

By Filipe Domingues

ROME — Young people have never been so present in technological innovations, politics, economics and social service as at this time in history, but the great contradiction is that most of these highly skilled young men and women do not find a place in society that would allow them to flourish. As Pope Francis has said, both young people and the elderly are marginalized in the throwaway society, which is why he convened a Synod of Bishops focused on youth for this October.

In preparation for this assembly, more than 300 young adults from around the world, both Catholic and non-Catholic, were invited to Rome March 19-24 to discuss the theme, “Young people, faith and vocational discernment.” They answered questions about the reality of young people today. Another 15,000 youth participated through six Facebook groups.

Together with two other Lay Centre students, I had the opportunity to attend this meeting, thanks to the Congregation for Catholic Education, which sent us as students at pontifical universities in Rome. In this pre-synodal meeting, I met young people with a lot of energy and excitement about being invited by the pope to talk about their experiences.

In many parts of the world, the Catholic Church is an aging institution whose practices are difficult to change. But elsewhere, pastoral movements and initiatives put young people at the center of their evangelization efforts, not as passive beneficiaries but as actors and protagonists.

To discuss the presence and the vocation of youth in the Church – “vocation” in the broad sense, that is, the call of God for each person – is, in fact, to discuss the Church itself.

To speak of the problems and aspirations of young people is to touch on themes that involve the daily life of the whole Church. During the meeting, we spoke of the beauty of the Eucharist and the need for sacramental formation; of family life and the central role it plays in the lives of young people; clericalism; the lack of credibility of some Church leaders; the role of women in the Church; sexual morality; and the relationship between faith and science.

All this resulted in a final document presented to Pope Francis and the world’s bishops. The document, which was written quickly and overnight between meetings, is imperfect. However, it offers an accurate summary of the diverse realities of young people and, in the end, it is an expression of the strongest issues of debate among the participants.

One of the powerful acknowledgments in this document is of the extreme individualism that young people today suffer in post-modern society. They miss the sense of community, they want to share life with others, and they recognize that they need role models to follow.

“Young people look for a sense of self by seeking communities that are supportive, uplifting, authentic and accessible: communities that empower them,” the document reads.

Yet, they feel compelled to think first of themselves, to find their own place, to take care of their own finances and careers, because they believe no one else will. The young person is also afraid of not being loved.

According to the young delegates, “it is necessary for the Church to examine the way in which it thinks about and engages with young people in order to be an effective, relevant and life-giving guide throughout their lives.”

Through education, they said, the Church can present values that guide the life of the young person. Furthermore, through its pastoral action and its authentic interest in those abandoned by the throwaway culture, the Church runs against the current, offering concrete models of community. This is where the Church plays an essential role, the young people said.

I would be pleased if this document were to be read by all who work with young people and if it were to be discussed among young people. It is a rich resource, as it came from the hearts of young men and women, and it is an honest reflection on urgent issues. To ignore it is like closing our eyes to a future that, willing or not, will come, with or without the participation of the Church.

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