The Catholic Church and all its members must get better at listening to young people, taking their questions seriously, recognizing them as full members of the church, patiently walking with them and offering guidance as they discern the best way to live their faith, the Synod of Bishops said.
No one is excluded from the love of God or from being welcomed into the Catholic Church, but God’s love and the church’s welcome also come with a call to conversion, said the English-language groups at the Synod of Bishops.
Young people today are telling Catholic leaders that if they want to persuade the young to follow Christ and pursue a vocation, church leaders must be models of Gospel behavior, said the head of the De La Salle Christian Brothers.
Young people want to know they are valued members of the Catholic Church and that their questions and struggles are taken seriously enough that someone will spend time with them discussing issues rather than simply repeating “prefabricated” responses, said delegates to a meeting in Rome.
Several young people attending a Vatican-sponsored seminar on the upcoming Synod of Bishops urged the Vatican and the bishops themselves to be open to listening to youths talk and ask questions about love, sex and sexuality.
It’s critical for young people to be given a welcome spot on parish councils.
Attending my first Mass at the age of 19 was a peculiar experience. The bells and smells were all new to me, as were the collective prayers. But most striking were two other facets of the Mass: the centrality of the sacraments and the reverence in which the Mass was celebrated.
The 2018 Synod of Bishops on youths and the celebration of World Youth Day 2019 in Panama, will be a synod “with young people” and one that helps them better express and share their faith. The theme will be “Young people, faith and vocational discernment.”
