THE USCCB DISCUSSES SYNOD 2018 ON YOUTH AND VOCATIONS

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) recently concluded meetings in Indianapolis.  

Among the topics discussed was the October 2018 Synod of Bishops which Pope Francis will convene to discuss young Catholics’ affiliation with the Church and vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life.

Speaking on th topic of the synod, Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark is quoted as telling the assembled Bishops, “We know that there are both challenges and opportunities here in the U.S. The increased amount of disconnected millennials is certainly a concern for us, as is the decline and the delay of marriage among young people.”

Hardly an insightful observation, yet to quote the adage:  “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king”!

 According to Pew Research Center, one out of three people raised Catholic have left the church. Almost half of those left before reaching 18 years of age. These are not just Catholics who do not practice their Catholic Faith.  These are people who have abandoned the Catholic Faith. This is a devastating exodus unprecedented in the life of the Catholic Church in America.

Tobin’s strategy in addressing the critical loss of young Catholics?  

"This is a time to learn from youth and young adults, to listen to their stories and to engage them in authentic dialogue," Tobin said. "We can also remember that youth and young adults are the agents, not the objects, of this process and of this synod. So they must have as much at stake in this as we do.  Further, we can involve leaders in youth, campus and young adult ministries, vocations, marriage and family life — all who connect with youth and young adults in their work."

To that end, the Vatican has created an online questionnaire inviting young people from all over the world to participate and give input to the Synod. By doing this, the Pope is modeling how Bishops should listen to young people prior to the synod.

“Listening and accompanying” is a pastoral style quite different from patriarchal style of “teaching and directing.” 

The pastoral style recognizes that these youths are adults who cannot be forced into prefabricated molds. Trust and understanding are essential to a fruitful conversation. The result may be accompanying people on a lifelong pilgrimage, rather than preparing them for an entrance exam.

The question is this:  are the Bishops disposed to listen  — even to those with whom they disagree — so that they might propose to young people the essentials of the Gospel in a more persuasive, life-changing way?"

Whether the Bishops will listen and accompany Catholic youth who have become indifferent and, in some cases, hostile to Church teaching is a whole other question. 

The fact remains that the majority of the members of the USCCB have been and are content to pretend that the problem is not a critical one, that the next generation of Catholics will be there when the Church of the future will need to depend upon their presence and support.

It’s the only conclusion one can draw from the Bishops' rather lackluster consideration of the issue and their willingness to simply relegate their consideration of it to the laundry list of other social programs which appear to garner their greater attention and energy.

So be it, but life has a terrible way of disrupting preconceived notions and ideas, even those of Bishops, Cardinals and Popes.