(ANS – Madrid – March 13) -
The
School of Theology of Salamanca, Spain, celebrated the feast of St. Thomas
Aquinas with a Mass presided over by Bishop Jesus Garcia Burillo of Avila and an
address by Fr. Rossano Sala, SDB, special secretary of the 15th Ordinary
General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. Fr. Sala’s topic was “Youth of the
Church and hopes of the young: what can we expect from the next synod?”
Fr. Sala presented his
conference “starting from the Church’s commitment to collaborating toward the
joy of the young, rather than trying to take possession of their faith.”
On secularization in the
European context, the Salesian priest referred to pastoral care
understood as the link between the recipients of the message and the action of
God through his Church. He continued by identifying four aspects that characterize
our times: spiritual nostalgia, because “the search for the meaning of life on
a spiritual level is alive, and faith can be an authentic response to this
nostalgia”; a paralysis in the decision-making process, since “it seems that we
can make only decisions of minor import”; the uncertainty facing what is or is
not true, “for which only contemplation can survive the communications
bombardment”; and disenchantment with institutions “from which nothing more is
expected than the preservation of individual rights.”
“Many young people ask
nothing of the Church,” Fr. Sala explained, except “that they be left in peace
and not be disturbed.” He also referred to young people’s opinion of the
Church: “an institution that should shine for its honesty.”
Another critical point is “the
passivity of the young in the Church because they often feel used and not
appreciated.” Likewise, they criticize “the Church’s inability to follow the
rhythm of the contemporary world.” Young people ask for a Church that listens
and pays attention, “that moves from humiliation to humility, from
individualism to communion, and from exteriority to interiority; a less
institutional and more relational Church, where one listens without judging.”
The special secretary for
the Synod on Youth also thinks that a presence on social networks is important.
He concluded his speech by emphasizing that a challenge for the Church is “the
need to acquire a renewed, youthful dynamism.”
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