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Document history:
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The Word of The Young and The Journey of the Church
An invitation of the Synod to renew our Youth Ministry
By Prof. Don Rossano Sala SDB
I start with an overview of the ongoing process of the Synod, which is in various ways involving young people and adults at various levels. The Synod, as a "journey together", wants everyone to have a voice and a word. Then I broadly outline the basic document of the synodal works, or the Instrumentum laboris: it is a decisive tool for taking stock of the situation of the universal Church on the themes of the Synod. Thirdly, I present one of the chapters of the Instrumentum laboris (the fourth part of the first part), which offers us a look at some anthropological and cultural challenges that we face today in a moment of epochal change, and that actually condition the exercise of our educational and pastoral work. Then I arrive at the central point of my presentation, namely the needs of the young, which for us also represent the voice of God in the history of humanity: their anguishes, their criticisms, their proposals which are the appeal of the Spirit, who also speaks through them and asks from us a spiritual, pastoral and missionary conversion. Then I address a specific theme, which I consider to be strategic nowadays, that of the digital world. Finally I conclude by presenting some proposals for the renewal by focusing on three key words of the next Synod: discernment, vocation and accompaniment.
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