A COLOSSAL WASTE OF TIME

Just let me say this about the Youth Synod just ending today:  “What a complete waste of time!”

The comments of the Holy Father notwithstanding that the Final Report of the Synod is the “work of the Holy Spirit”, the fact is no young person is going to be moved to read let alone attempt to digest the 55 page document the Bishops produced.

Young people are not going to invest their time or energy reading 55 pages of ecclesiastical gobly-gook.

And if the Bishops truly believe that what they have to say is going to attract young people to the Catholic Faith, I want to have what they were drinking during the meetings.

Just one example will highlight my point.

On the question of difference between men and women, the Final report references the equality of men and women before God and says that “domination and discrimination based on sex offends human dignity,” forms of which even the Church needs to free itself from.

“The relationship between man and woman is then understood in terms of a vocation to live together in reciprocity and in dialogue, in communion and in fruitfulness in all areas of human experience: couple life, work, education and more,” it states.

Keep in mind that these statements are made by Bishops who neither invited nor welcomed the input of women in the discernment and decision processes of the Synod.

But the Final Report continues.

The document also tackles the topic of the body from the angle of sexual immorality, such as promiscuity, sexual tourism, “fascination for risky behaviors,” digital pornography and the display of one’s body online.

“These phenomena, to which the new generations are exposed,” the document states, “constitute an obstacle for a serene maturation. They indicate unprecedented social dynamics, which influence personal experiences and choices, making them the territory of a sort of ideological colonization.”

What young person speaks of "serene maturation" whatever in the world those words mean?

Do the Bishops honestly believe that any young person (let alone mature adult) is capable of translating such jargon into a practical understanding of what the Church is saying about human sexuality?

Once again, the Bishops have exposed the fact that they have nothing to offer young people because they have no understanding of the experience of young people and the times in which they are living.

If anyone can tell me what of practical import and value this Synod will have upon today’s youth, please let me know.

I am glad I kept my expectations of this gathering very low.  The Bishops affirmed those expectations as I thought they would.