Currents News Staff
For the past three weeks, the Synod Fathers have been discussing youth. Even more specifically, youth spirituality, youth ministry, and bishops and priests’ role in helping young people.
“The first element which we really spoke of so much is you have to be ready to listen to young people and that is listen, but also hear. That means, not only say, ‘I heard you.’ But say, ‘I heard you and I want to hear you. I want to do what you told me.’ The whole thing is a very active way of being in the midst of youth,” said Msgr. Lucas Van Looy, Bishop of Ghent, President Caritas Belgium.
Listening has been the “hot synod word” this year, yet, amidst all the discussions with bishops and youth, he said there is one big piece missing.
“What I’m missing in the text now is clarity about the conditions to listen. You can only listen to the people if you’re with them, not on the telephone or on the video. You have to be with them. The fact of listening is there, many times even. Listening to each other and listening to the young people, but how do you do that and what are the basic conditions for it? The basic condition is: you have to be there,” said Msgr. Van Looy.
The Bishop of Ghent assures that he tries to spend as much time as possible with the youth in his diocese, learning from them. In that way, he believes the final letter to young people should be written in a different way than it’s always been done.
“We want to write a message to the young people, and that is not easy. There should be somebody writing that message, who is constantly with young people. I would almost say, the young people themselves should write the letter to their friends and that the bishops sign it,” said Msgr. Van Looy.
He believes this sort of letter would be better received in the “common language used by youth,” as if written to a friend. He desires that young people be excited to share this letter and learn more about how the Church wants to incorporate them in her mission.