Fourteen small groups of members of the Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment have engaged in discussions regarding the Instrumentum Laboris (IL), or working document, guiding the Synod on youth.
Divided by language groups, there were four English-language conversations, three French, two Spanish, one German, and one Portuguese.
Interestingly, for many of the participants, these were second languages. Thus, the reports of these discussions were difficult to read.
However, certain themes and tendencies were clear.
The English-speaking groups were concerned that the Working Document had under-emphasized faith in Christ and the Church’s teaching office, noting that the IL never once mentions the virtue of chastity.
The group headed by Cardinal Cupich explicitly questioned the Church’s emphasis on the traditional nuclear family, going so far as to suggest that the Church does not accompany young people in unusual familial circumstances.
Third, as expected, there were some rumblings about “updating” the Church’s teaching on sexuality, particularly from the French-speaking Group B, the German-speaking Group, and Cardinal Maradiaga’s Spanish-speaking Group A.
Cardinal Maradiaga’s group suggested that the young have the “right” to make “mistakes” and encouraged Pastors to “accompany” the young without reproof, saying “an empathetic Church is one that accompanies despite errors, without imposing, prohibiting, or demanding...”
Several, but not all, of the groups mentioned the Clerical sex abuse crisis and how it has hampered evangelization.
Whether or not the Synodal Fathers will get around to challenging young people to accept the burden which comes with the Gospel and the personal sacrifice required in fulfilling its call to virtue remains to be seen.
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