About 300 young people from around the world and 15,000 connected via social media participated in its drafting and elaboration. Young people want an open, credible Church and educators who can guide them, acknowledging their fragility.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Card Lorenzo Baldisseri, general secretary of the Synod, held a press conference today in which he presented some of the salient points of a document dedicated to the pre-synodal meeting that was held in the past few days in the Vatican.
The document – which will be given tomorrow to Pope Francis by a young person from Panama, the country that will host the 2019 World Youth Day – is the final draft approved by a group of 300 young people who gathered in Rome from all over the world, along with another 15,000 connected to the meeting via social media.
The input for the final document was collected from 20 language groups. One of the young people who participate in the drafting, Laphidil Twumasi, from Ghana but living in Italy, said: "There were nine groups for English, four for Spanish, four for Italian, and three for French. In addition to these groups there were six other groups from social media so that young people who could not be physically present at the pre-synodal meeting could be heard."
He ended his address saying: "I was part of the group that drafted the document, which was a unique and unforgettable experience. We felt very involved."
"The text shows that there is a great desire for transparency and credibility on the part of the members of the Church, in particular pastors,” said Card Baldisseri. “Young people expect a Church that knows how to acknowledge with humility the errors of the past and the present and to commit herself courageously to live according to what she professes. At the same time, young people are looking for educators with a human face, ready if necessary to acknowledge their fragility."
Percival Holt, from India, echoed such views. In his country, " There is an alarming need to assist us in coping up with this rapidly transforming world where career, education, technology and superficial relationships are taking a toll on us. Most of the young people are in tremendous personality crisis mainly due to external pressures and lack of introspection, relationship with the divine and others. Spirituality is important for many as a way of life but again ambiguous for others. [. . .] Young people want guidance and accompaniment in their journey of life.”
Percival Holt also noted that even though people came from different cultures and religions, “strangely the feelings and concerns appear to be quite similar”.
Card Baldisseri reiterated what Pope Francis said in inaugurating the meeting, namely that it is up to young people to prophesy, concluding that "today's young people want to see a Church open to dialogue and acceptance, renewal and listening, as the Holy Father said at the beginning of his Petrine ministry."
The document of the pre-Synodal meeting is one of the sources that will contribute to the drafting of the Instrumentum laboris for the Synod, to be held in October.