Synod of young people
by Violetta Ferrari
Year 61 of the Christian era: after three months of stay in Malta due to adverse weather conditions, Saint Paul, on his way to Rome having appealed to Caesar, touched Syracuse and Reggio Calabria and then, having landed in Pozzuoli, continued to the City . It is the path that young Romans will travel from 5 to 9 August this year, making various stops on the Appian Way (sections of the Appian Way from Itri to Fondi, Foro Appio, Tre Taverne, Via Appia Antica Romana), to arrive in Rome at the tomb of Saint Paul.
On the afternoon of August 10th at the Circus Maximus they will meet other peers, coming from all the dioceses of Italy, each following their own itinerary, in preparation for the meeting the following day in St. Peter's with Pope Francis. It is the first specific gathering of young Italians with the Pope, and comes four years after his election. The occasion is offered by the imminent celebration of the Synod of Bishops, scheduled from 3 to 28 October, on the theme "young people, faith and vocational discernment". The journey will be punctuated by reflection proposals, so as to make it a course of "itinerant spiritual exercises". But, don't worry! There will be another goal to reach: your heart! Walking, in fact, has always been one of the most significant experiences for man. He opens the mind, expands the breath, asks for research... awakens the questions you have in your heart.
The walking route aims to express the desire to become incarnate in the history of our faith, so as to make its sharing with other young people from Italy who will come to visit the Pope more authentic. It will be a moment to get to know Saint Paul better, to give some ' time alone, to meet other young people during moments of meditation and fun while learning to respect others.
In Rome, one hundred parishes have offered hospitality, while sixteen churches, in the Circus Maximus area, will be open during the white night so that, after an afternoon of entertainment, testimonies and meetings, anyone who wants can find space for prayer and confessions.
The Pope has already spoken to young people several times, giving directives and encouraging them to live this age of their lives with enthusiasm. But this time he will find, at least officially, only young Italians, who will be able to create a particular relational climate with him, so as to elicit messages of mutual sharing linked to their national situation.
The Synod began in 2016 with the announcement and subsequent consultations of the local Churches around the world, also through current mass media; in 2019 the final document will be proposed as a guideline for local pastoral development.
The rumors circulating already offer some traces of the responses received which, if on the one hand obviously reflect the situations of the different countries, on the other also offer common shared views.
Some Episcopal Conferences frankly denounce that young people "are not in the hearts of many bishops and priests". Others underline that they "are not workforce, but co-producers of a shared vision", that is, they should be given protagonist roles, avoiding the instrumental use that in many cases is made of them. This is the point that catches many local communities unprepared: do we use young people or are we ready to valorise them?
The new generation is thirsty for truth and authenticity, which is why we need to constantly monitor the quality of our educational proposal: recreational-entertainment, social operations, life proposal. So that everything becomes an "inner movement".
The distancing of many young people from the Church is also motivated by the obsolete and incomprehensible answers we offer them. We struggle to find language and operations suited to current contexts. From some responses it appears that young people are very sensitive to the quality of the liturgy: they want homilies capable of truly touching the heart and above all they come to church to experience something that they cannot experience elsewhere.