Document final — Les jeunes

The Church has a rich tradition on which to build and from which to put forward her teaching in this area: for example, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the theology of the body developed by Saint John Paul II, the Encyclical Deus Caritas Est by Benedict XVI, the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia by Pope Francis. But the young, including those who know this teaching and live by it, express a wish to hear from the Church a clear, humane and empathetic word. Frequently, though, sexual morality gives rise to incomprehension and distancing from the Church, inasmuch as she is perceived as a place of judgement and condemnation. In the face of social changes and new ways of living affectivity and the multiplicity of ethical perspectives, the young show themselves sensitive to the value of authenticity and dedication, but are often disoriented. They express more particularly an explicit desire to discuss questions concerning the difference between masculine and feminine identity, the reciprocity between men and women, and homosexuality. Forms of vulnerability