ROME
Catholic News Service
March 26, 2018
Young people want to know they are valued members of the Catholic Church and that their questions and struggles are taken seriously enough that someone will spend time with them discussing issues rather than simply repeating “prefabricated” responses, said delegates to a meeting in Rome.
“We need a church that is welcoming and merciful, which appreciates its roots and patrimony and which loves everyone, even those who are not following the perceived standards,” said the final document of a pre-synod gathering organised by the Vatican 19-25 March.
The document reflects the input of 305 young adults attending the meeting in Rome and some 15,000 young people who participated through Facebook groups online.
Released on 24 March, it was to be presented to Pope Francis at the end of Palm Sunday Mass the next day and was to be used in drafting the working document for the Synod of Bishops on young people, faith and vocational discernment in October, said Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary general of the synod.
With a frantic pace of life, thousands of life choices and proponents of different ideas and ideals battling for their attention, young people said what they want most from the church is “attractive, coherent and authentic models,” who will accompany them in their search for meaning and fulfillment.
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