It has been clear from the beginning of the synodal journey that the young form an essential part of the Church. So too, therefore, does their holiness, which in recent decades has flourished in many different ways all over the world: contemplating and meditating during the Synod upon the courage of so many young people who sacrificed their lives for remaining faithful to the Gospel has been deeply moving for us; listening to the testimonies of the young people present at the Synod, who amid persecutions chose to share the passion of the Lord Jesus, has been life-giving. Through the holiness of the young, the Church can renew her spiritual ardour and her apostolic vigour. The balsam of holiness generated by the good lives of so many young people can heal the wounds of the Church and of the world, bringing us back to that fullness of love to which we have always been called: the young saints inspire us to return to our first love (cf. Rev 2:4). The synodal event that we experienced The process of preparation The Final Document of the Synodal Assembly
Jesus journeys with the disciples on the way to Emmaus
PART ONE
“JESUS WALKED WITH THEM”
Chapter I. A Church that Listens
Listening and seeing with empathy
The value of listening
The young want to be heard
Listening in the Church
Listening on the part of pastors and qualified laypeople
The diversity of contexts and cultures
A “plural” world
Changes taking place
Exclusion and marginalization
Men and women
Cultural colonization
A first look at the Church of today
The Church’s commitment to education
Activities in youth ministry
The burden of administration
The situation of parishes
Initiation into Christian life
The formation of seminarians and consecrated persons
Chapter II. Three crucial Elements
The newness of the digital environment
A pervasive reality
The network of opportunities
The dark side of the internet
Migrants as a paradigm of our time
A multi-faceted phenomenon
Violence and vulnerability
Stories of separation and of encounter
The prophetic role of the Church
Recognizing and reacting to all types of abuse
Establishing the truth and asking for forgiveness
Going to the roots
Thanks and encouragement
Chapter III. Identity and Relations
Family and intergenerational relations
The family as a privileged point of reference
The importance of maternity and paternity
The relations between generations
The young and cultural roots
Friendship and relationships between peers
Body and affectivity
Changes taking place
Reception of the Church’s moral teachings
The questions of the young
Forms of vulnerability
The world of work
Violence and persecutions
Marginalization and social malaise
The experience of suffering
The resource of vulnerability
Chapter IV. Being young today
Aspects of today’s youth culture
Originality and specificity
Commitment and social engagement
Art, music and sport
Spirituality and religiosity
The different religious contexts
The religious quest
The encounter with Jesus
The desire for living liturgy
Participation and active involvement
The young want active involvement
Reasons for a distance
Young people in the Church
Women in the Church
The mission of the young towards their peers
Desire for a more authentic and fraternal ecclesial community
Part TWO
“THEIR EYES WERE OPENED”
A new Pentecost
The action of the Holy Spirit
The Spirit rejuvenates the Church
The Spirit in the life of the believer
An authentic experience of God
Chapter I. The Gift of Youth
Jesus as a young man among the young
The youth of Jesus
With the Lord’s gaze
Characteristics of youth
The healthy restlessness of the young
Wounded young people
Becoming adult
The age of choices
Life under the sign of mission
A pedagogy capable of dialogue
The true sense of authority
Family bonds
Called to freedom
The Gospel of freedom
A responsorial freedom
Freedom and faith
Freedom that is wounded and redeemed
Chapter II. The Mystery of Vocation
The search for vocation
Vocation, journey and discovery
Vocation, grace and freedom
Creation and vocation
Towards a vocational culture
The vocation to follow Jesus
The attractiveness of Jesus
Faith, vocation and discipleship
The Virgin Mary
Vocation and vocations
Vocation and mission of the Church
The variety of charisms
Profession and vocation
The family
Consecrated life
The ordained ministry
The condition of “singles”
Chapter III. The Mission to Accompany
The Church that accompanies
Faced with choices
Breaking bread together
Environments and roles
Accompanying the entry into society
Community accompaniment, of groups and individuals
A fruitful tension
Community accompaniment and group accompaniment
Personal spiritual accompaniment
Accompaniment and the sacrament of Reconciliation
Integral accompaniment
Accompaniment during formation for the ordained ministry and consecrated life
Quality accompaniers
Called to accompany
The profile of the accompanier
The importance of formation
Chapter IV. The Art of Discernment
The Church, an environment for discernment
A constellation of meanings in the variety of spiritual traditions
At the heart of the Word and of the Church
Conscience in discernment
God speaks to the heart
The Christian idea of conscience
The formation of conscience
Ecclesial conscience
The practice of discernment
Familiarity with the Lord
The attitudes of the heart
The dialogue of accompaniment
Decision and confirmation
Part THREE
“THEY SET OUT AT ONCE”
A young Church
An icon of resurrection
Walking with the young
The desire to reach all the young
Spiritual, pastoral and missionary conversion
Chapter I. The Missionary Synodality of the Church
A constitutive dynamism
The young ask us to walk together
The Synodal process continues
The Synodal form of the Church
A participatory and co-responsible Church
Joint processes of discernment
A style for mission
Missionary communion
A mission in dialogue
Towards the peripheries of the world
Chapter II. Walking together in daily life
From structures to relationships
From delegation to involvement
The renewal of the parish
Open and decipherable structures
The life of the community
A mosaic of faces
The community in the area
Kerygma and catechesis
The centrality of the liturgy
The generosity of diakonia
Youth pastoral ministry from a vocational perspective
The Church, a home for the young
Vocational animation of pastoral ministry
A pastoral vocational ministry for the young
From fragmentation to integration
The fruitful relationship between events and daily life
Youth centres
Chapter III. Renewed Missionary Vigour
Some urgent challenges
Mission in the digital environment
Migrants: knocking down walls and building bridges
Women in a synodal Church
Sexuality: a clear, free, authentic word
Ecomonics, politics, work, common home
In intercultural and interreligious contexts
The young for ecumenical dialogue
Chapter IV. Integral Formation
Concreteness, complexity and integration
Education, school and university
Preparing new formators
Forming missionary disciples
A time for accompanying discernment
Accompaniment for marriage
The formation of seminarians and of consecrated men and women
Conclusion
Called to become saints
Reawakening the world with holiness
Carried away by the holiness of the young