Upcoming Synod & Youth

  • Thread starter Thread starter gracepoole
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
G

gracepoole

Guest
The more I think about the upcoming synod, the more I’m perplexed. I’m absolutely certain that the youths involved with the pre-synod work are faithful and faith-filled Catholics. And I’m not dismissing the work they did to prepare the pre-synodal document nor all of its content. I will continue to pray for them. But the focus of this synod seems problematic to me, primarily because the youth of the Church, generally speaking, are today the product of a tremendous lack of proper catechesis. I wouldn’t outright dismiss the views of my own children, of course, or any other youths. But are they really the group to lead us out of the Church’s present problems given how little they generally know about the faith?

Something to consider: A Church of kids: Will the Synod on Youth get it backwards? | Catholic Culture

(And if anyone wants to read the pre-synodal document: Final Document from the Pre-Synodal Meeting)

Thoughts, anyone?
 
I think it is inappropriate for the youth to talk unless asked for their opinions. The Church wants their opinions apparently (couldn’t tell you why) so I guess they have the right to speak. I have a strong feeling this will be a totally worthless and actively harmful event but who knows? Maybe the Holy Spirit will step in.
 
As I said, I don’t think all of it is problematic. But this seems…interesting:

“The young have many questions about the faith, but desire answers which are not watered-down, or which utilize pre-fabricated formulations. We, the young Church, ask that our leaders speak in practical terms about controversial subjects such as homosexuality and gender issues, about which young people are already freely discussing without taboo.”

What exactly should the Church say about these topics that She hasn’t already said?

Or this: “Some young women feel that there is a lack of leading female role models within the Church and they too wish to give their intellectual and professional gifts to the Church.”

This seems problematic because while some young women may feel this way, what roles are women unable to attain in the Church currently? And are these roles into which women can participate?

My children often want things without seeing the consequences, recognizing whether these things are actual possible or healthy, etc. Is the synod welcoming this kind of thinking? And how will that pay off for anyone involved?
 
I suggest you take a deep breath, relax, and pray over the Synod. I admit, at first blush the “working document” seems concerning, but it is just a listing of ideas that the pre-Synod youth attendees vocalized. The Church needs to really hear what is actually confusing to the youth in order to best preach the Gospel to them. A lot of people immediately jump to conclusions, thinking the Church is going to change teachings, water down the faith, etc. The fact is that young people are the ones falling away from the Church the fastest. The Church is genuinely trying to understand why so she can address this issue and arrest the trend.

It seems that some “traditionalists” expected a document that was going to reinstate the Latin Mass and solve all of the perceived post-Vatican II problems. So right now they are complaining that nobody should listen to youth anyway. Yet, if the working document drawn up from the (name removed by moderator)ut of youth had stated that the Latin Mass should be resumed universally or that all Masses should be celebrated Ad Orientum, then they would proclaim that these youth spoke the truth.

Instead of just worrying or complaining about the youth in the Church, anyone who is genuinely concerned about the problem should pray over the matter, and also teach the faith to young friends or family, or perhaps even volunteer to teach R.E. in their parish.
 
Amen. Fastest way to turn off the youth? Tell them their faith concerns don’t matter.
This is really a tempest in a teapot.

Some teens actually GO to RE!

Amazing, eh?
 
Who’s saying their concerns don’t matter? I think I went out of my way to repeat that they do and should.
 
I wouldn’t worry until a certain group of youths start to stomp their feet when they don’t think they are being treated fairly, then they kill Piggy and start to worship meaningless shiny objects. 🤓
 
You are not the only one who is concerned about this upcoming synod. Fr. Gerald Murray and Robert Royal their concerns about the document on a recent episode of The World Over:


To summarize: one point that Robert Royal made was that he was very skeptical that the pre-synod document authentically expressed the opinions of the young people whose (name removed by moderator)ut was solicited. Some of the language in the document seems to come almost word for word from statements that bishops and other clergy who are of a more liberal bent have made over recent years since Pope Francis was elected. It its not only possible but most likely probable that certain bishops were projecting their own opinions in place of the young Catholics who were surveyed (think of the Synod on the Family in 2014 where a couple of bishops came up with a mid-synod document on their own and were quickly skewered by the rest of the attendees for trying to pass off their fringe opinions as the consensus of all of the synod bishops). Fr. Murray makes the point that many of the desires of the young people in the document, particularly the section about women in the Church, seem like pandering to feminists and secular society when much of what they talk about is Church doctrine that should not really be up for discussion, and bringing those topics up as if they are negotiable only weakens the moral authority of the Church.

For me personally, I’m very skeptical that this synod will accomplish anything worthwhile and the pre-synod document only deepens my suspicions that there is another hidden agenda behind this synod as there was with the Synod on the Family. That synod was never supposed to be about communion practices for divorced and remarried couples, but that ended up being one of the top discussion points at the synod. I have a strong feeling that this synod will be hijacked by the usual suspects so they can try to weaken Church doctrine.
 
Last edited:
Well, it’s already going pretty badly. I’m apart of the pre-synodal meeting Facebook group and have read all of the responses on the specific question on the subject of the “Church” as well as responses to other questions.

This question received the most answers, over double the amount of the other questions. All 201 I read through in order to get a good idea of what people were asking for. By far, I was struck by the amount of people that wanted traditional, reverent, sacred, mysterious (their words, not mine) liturgies, no watering down of the faith, beauty in churches. They didn’t want the Church to change in order to fit the times. A lot of references to the EF mass.

Not once was the Extraordinary Form mentioned in the document. The one mention is quoted here,
Some of us have a passion for “the fire” of contemporary and charismatic movements that focus on the Holy Spirit; others are drawn towards silence, meditation and reverential traditional liturgies.
Click to expand...
I just don’t understand why they can’t say Extraordinary Form, especially when no one I saw mentioned Charismatic movements at all while a whole boatload of people mentioned the EF. I was really hoping we would be heard. I don’t particularly like having to drive over an hour for an EF mass, so I do think at least the specific mention of it would have been nice.

Overall, it’s not a bad document. But I just hope they put less emphasis on “active participation in the Church” (when hardly anyone was even talking about that) and more emphasis on what we really want when the time comes.

edit: I’m doing some more reading, and the #proposals question is something really interesting to see. A lot of distaste for guitar masses. I think this comment sums it up.
(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)
 
Last edited:
misstherese said:
By far, I was struck by the amount of people that wanted traditional, reverent, sacred, mysterious (their words, not mine) liturgies, no watering down of the faith, beauty in churches. They didn’t want the Church to change in order to fit the times. A lot of references to the EF mass.
Click to expand...
No, no. You must have misunderstood. No one wants any of that anymore. :roll_eyes:
 
Peter and Paul did not celebrate the Latin Mass, and I’d say they were pretty faithful Catholics.
 
It’s a great experience here,

It’s the year of youth in Liturgy in Australia, in the Church.

Year of Youth aims to:
prayerfully discern the Australian Bishops vision for ministry with young people, Anointed and Sent
authentic and personal engagement by Church leaders in the challenges and success in young people’s lives
acknowledging the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of young people, and young people acting upon the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church;
upholding the dignity of young people, ensuring a safe environment from physical, emotional and spiritual harm
These goals for the Year of Youth dovetail with the goals of Anointed and Sent: an Australian vision for Catholic youth ministry and provide a rich framework and challenges local faith communities to explore new horizons as they accompany young people into maturity.
 
bobperk said:
Peter and Paul did not celebrate the Latin Mass, and I’d say they were pretty faithful Catholics.
Click to expand...
That’s right, and neither did anyone else until Victor I in 190 AD. I wonder if people threw a hissy fit when Rome abandoned the TGM (Traditional Greek Mass) for that newfangled Latin one. Or complained about the music when Chalemagne installed an organ in his chapel in Aachen in 812? Or mope about how the non-Roman Gregorian Chant displaced the Old Roman Chant starting about the same time?

One thing is for sure, though. Every generation since we came down from the trees has complained about how lazy and degenerate the next generation was. And we can rest assured that that will continue to be the case until the Crack of Doom.
 
gracepoole said:
“The young have many questions about the faith, but desire answers which are not watered-down, or which utilize pre-fabricated formulations. We, the young Church, ask that our leaders speak in practical terms about controversial subjects such as homosexuality and gender issues, about which young people are already freely discussing without taboo.”

What exactly should the Church say about these topics that She hasn’t already said?
Click to expand...
I’m puzzled by your question. She has said hardly anything on those topics, except for, yes, “pre-fabricated formulations”. And the Church has basically implied that the topics shouldn’t be talked about by those who experience them. That’s something I’m guessing the young people, who discuss them “without taboo”, won’t agree with.

There is this fear that more light on the subjects will make us accept them. But all light is God’s light, so why are we afraid?
 
Prodigal_Son said:
I’m puzzled by your question. She has said hardly anything on those topics, except for, yes, “pre-fabricated formulations”. And the Church has basically implied that the topics shouldn’t be talked about by those who experience them. That’s something I’m guessing the young people, who discuss them “without taboo”, won’t agree with.

There is this fear that more light on the subjects will make us accept them. But all light is God’s light, so why are we afraid?
Click to expand...
Who’s afraid? The question is whether what the Church is being asked to do is reasonable. Where does the Church imply that those who experience these issues shouldn’t speak of them?
 
I would not be too worry about this. It is usual to have pre-synod to prepare what to deliberate during the synod later. Any Conferences or synods for the laity would involve such preparation.

If the worry is that the Vatican might use the outcome or what transpire during the youth synod to come out with a decision to change the doctrine or discipline of the Church, then I think that is unlikely. It is not the practice of the Vatican at all. This synod would be more of the activity for the youth, to encourage and to have their voice heard.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top