Pope Francis has asked bishops around the world to think about the role of young people in the Church. This will be the theme of the next synod scheduled for 2018.
The goal will be to gauge the state of youth with respect to the Catholic faith throughout the world. To prepare for it, bishops will have to answer a list of questions sent from Rome. Their answers will serve to create the working document of the synod.
CARD. LORENZO BALDISSERI
Secretary General of the Synod of the Family
'They will have to start work immediately. We asked them to send us the answers by the end of October so that we can prepare the next working document.'
The novelty of this synod will be that young people will be able to participate through a web page that the Vatican will launch in early March. There they can express their concerns about their life and faith.
MSGR. FABIO FABENE
Undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops
'The answers will be sent to specialized institutes to be evaluated. This will then serve to create the next working document for the synod.'
With this synod, the pope wants the whole Church, starting with the hierarchy, to reflect on how to help young people connect with faith, find their vocation, overcome their fears, discover their talents and face the difficulties of life with concrete decisions.
The pope himself says this to them: 'Make your voice heard, let it resonate in communities and let it be heard by your shepherds of souls.' Pope Francis wants the hierarchy to listen to the youth so that the young people feel the warmth of the Church and stop living outside it.
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