Pope responds to young people’s
questions at Pre-Synodal meeting
5 questions from young people from different experiences and
parts of the world. And 5 answers from Pope Francis ranging from the dignity of
women to spiritual formation.
At a pre-Synodal meeting on Monday, Pope Francis responded
to 5 questions about issues faced by young people from around the world.
How can young people help victims of human trafficking?
Pope Francis was clearly moved by the first question which
addressed the reality of sex trafficking. He referred to the stories he has
heard from trafficked women about the dangers they face trying to escape their
captors. The Pope described this abuse, and even torture, as the “slavery of
today”. The Pope went on to denounce the evil of exploiting women. He had
especially strong words for baptized Catholics who pay for prostitutes. This is
a “crime against humanity”, he said. Pope Francis called on young people to
fight for the dignity of women, and concluded by asking forgiveness for all the
Catholics who take part in these “criminal acts”.
Where should a young person look for guidance in making
life choices?
Pope Francis responded to a young French student seeking
direction in his life, by suggesting we confide in those who possess wisdom,
regardless of whether they are young or old. “The wise person”, he said, “is
the one who is not scared of anything, but who knows how to listen and has the
God-given gift of saying the right thing at the right time”. The Pope warned
that when young people fail to find their “path of discernment”, they risk
shutting themselves off. This can become like carrying a “cancer” inside, he
said. And this risks weighing them down and taking away their freedom.
How can we teach young people to be open to their
neighbor and to the transcendent?
Pope Francis said education should teach three basic
languages: those of the head, the heart, and the hands. The language of the
head, he said, means thinking well and learning concrete things. That of the
heart means understanding feelings and sentiments. The language of the hands is
making use of the gifts God has given us to create new things. The key, he
said, is to use all three together. Pope Francis went on to criticize what he
called the “isolating nature” of today’s digital, virtual world. Rather than
demonize technology, the Pope called it a richness that must be used well with
a “concreteness that brings freedom”.
How is a young person preparing for the priesthood to
respond to the complexities of present-day culture – like tattoos, for
instance?
Pope Francis used this question from a young Ukrainian
seminarian to reflect on the priest as a “witness to Christ”. Clericalism, on
the contrary, said the Pope, is “one of the worst illnesses of the Church”,
because it confuses the “paternal role of the priest” with the “managerial role
of the boss”. He also spoke about the relationship between the priest and the
community and how this relationship is compromised, and can be destroyed, by
“gossip”. Responding specifically to the question of tattoos, Pope Francis
recalled how different cultures have used them to distinguish and identify
themselves, so “don’t be afraid of tattoos”, he said – but don’t exaggerate
either. If anything, use the tattoo as a talking-point to begin a dialogue
about what it signifies.
How can young women religious balance the dominant
culture in society and the spiritual life in accomplishing their mission?
The Pope responded to this final question saying that an
adequate formation throughout religious life needs to be built on four pillars:
formation for an intellectual, communitarian, apostolic, and spiritual life.
Having only a spiritual formation leads to psychological immaturity, he said.
Even though this is often done to protect young religious from the world, Pope
Francis said it is not protection, it is “deformation”. Those who have not
received affective formation are the ones who have ended up doing evil.
Allowing people to mature affectively is the only way to protect them.
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