Synod of Bishops: We must ask for
forgiveness
Synod of Bishops on Young People Monday Press briefing. |
At Monday’s press briefing for the Synod of Bishops on Young
People a bishop said that the Church must ask young people for forgiveness for
the kind of world we have created.
By Russell Pollitt, SJ
The Synod Fathers had Monday off while the first draft of
the Synod document was being finalised. This draft will be presented at the
General Assembly on Tuesday morning. The draft will be debated on Tuesday and
Wednesday. On Thursday the Synod Fathers will have a day off while a final
draft is being prepared. On Friday the General Assembly will meet to elect a
new Council for the Synod and, on Saturday, the final document will be
presented to the bishops. They will vote on the document paragraph by paragraph,
each needing a two thirds majority to be included in the final document.
We must ask forgiveness
Bishop Paolo Bizzeti, S.J., from Turkey said that he has
been thinking about the kind of world that has been created for young people.
We have not prepared a livable world for young people where they can work,
express themselves and use their talents. We have to ask young people for
forgiveness, he said, for creating a world in which we have deprived them of so
many possibilities.
The Bishop also said that what emerged for him at the Synod
was the vast differences between the Church in affluent wealthy parts of the
world compared to many impoverished places. He said that in impoverished places
it is very hard to talk about faith and discernment when many young people from
the ages of 8 or 10 are not able to choose because choices are made for them,
often by the desperate conditions they find themselves in.
Conversion
We must change, we must take conversion seriously, so that
we can become a better Church, said Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, S.D.B., General
Superior of the Salesians of Saint John Bosco. He said that young people
have asked the Church to be brave and bear witness, to testify to the faith. He
said that this was a call to all adults, not just to the clergy.
Ms. Henriette Camara, an auditor and member of the Catholic
Scouts from Guinea, spoke about her conversion. She said that she came from a
Muslim family. She came into contact with the Catholic Scouts and explained
how, through this movement, she chose to convert. She says that she received a
lot of support from them, she was welcomed without any discrimination and that
her commitment to the Church with other young people has been a very meaningful
experience. She also said that, even today, her mother is not happy that she
chose to convert but she is still supported by the scouts.
Feeling fatherless and motherless
Bishop Bizzeti and Fr Artime said that they believe that
motherhood and fatherhood is missing in the world. Fr Artime says that he meets
young people who suffer from this lack of parenthood. He said that even in
families that are conventional the pace of life is such that children are often
not given the presence and accompaniment they need.
He went on to say that he believed that there is a weakness
in the Church’s vision. The Church is not only present in parishes but in
schools, shelters and other institutions and it is precisely in these that the
Church can offer and help young people with a truly mature and healthy
motherhood and fatherhood.
Local Synods
Bishop Frank J. Caggiano from the USA, said that the work of
the Synod has been to look at things from a universal level but that this now
needs to be taken into local Churches. He said that Synodality doesn’t end now,
it must be concretised in local areas. A big question for him, he says, is how
he takes this forward in his own diocese. He said that he wants to bring young
people in his diocese together so that they can put their heads together and
find a way forward. He said that a diocesan synod or congress might be a way of
taking the Synod forward.
Bishop Caggiano said that young people have a unique
contribution to offer the Church in the form of the technologies they use.
Young people have expertise on the “digital continent” and that needs to become
real missionary territory. He said that the young people at the Synod are ready
to be sent and that it is his hope that they unleash a new energy and power in
the Church. Young people best evangelise young people, the bishop said.
Commenting on the sexual abuse of minors Bishop Caggiano
said that abuse was both a crime and a sin and that there is no place in the
Church for this at all. We need to let young people know that we are committed
to rebuilding our credibility and trust. The Bishops said that when trust is
broken it is very hard to rebuild and needs to be done one person at a time. He
said that that is something the bishops will address and must have a definitive
way of dealing with in the future.
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