By Elise Harris
Vatican City, Mar 20, 2018 / 15:00 pm
Young people from around the world have begun a meeting at the Vatican by voicing their hopes and expectations from the Church regarding the challenges they face and the questions life poses.
Specifically, they have said they want to know they are taken seriously, and they want the Church to talk to them about difficult issues, among them same-sex marriage, euthanasia and the role of women in the Church.
The young people are delegates to a special pre-synod meeting of youth, which is taking place March 19-24 and has drawn some 300 representatives from around the world to talk about key themes ahead October's Synod of Bishops on "Young People, Faith and the Discernment of Vocation."
CNA spoke with several young participants at the pre-synod meeting, hailing from Japan, Australia, Mexico, Iraq and the United States.
They spoke about issues important in their countries of origin, including persecution, the refugee crisis, suicide and drugs.
Australia
For 22-year-old Angelas Markas, a Chaldean Catholic living in Australia, youth need to "move forward, we need to be brave in addressing topics like same-sex marriage, euthanasia, sexuality – what does it mean to embrace our sexuality as Catholics, and the role of women – how important are we, how empowered are we?"
Markas was one of five young people to give testimonies in front of Pope Francis during the March 19 opening session.
In her speech, she highlighted, among other things, her life as part of the Iraqi Chaldean diaspora, her work with indigenous communities in Australia, and her hope that the Church would engage with young people on important issues, especially the role of women, who she said "need to feel our sense of empowerment."
In comments to CNA, Markas said these are all the topics she wants to discuss during the event, and voiced hope that the stories and experiences she shares "will be embraced."
On the role of women, Markas said she believes they are already "embraced and empowered" in the Church, but thinks this sense of empowerment should be "more obvious."
She also spoke of the tragedy of clerical abuse -- which has plagued Australia for years and tarnished public perception of the Church -- saying that while it is a problem, she trusts the Church "is going to find her path in this."
"We are a Church of hope, if we aren't a Church of hope, how are we really going to grow from this?" she said. "We are the witnesses of the Resurrection, so we have to have hope that this will all heal and we have to work toward it."
Markas also voiced appreciation for Pope Francis' appeals on behalf of migrants and refugees, which hold special significance for her because of her own heritage. The Pope, she said, "is so great in that he always addresses the littleness, the smallness of the youth from wherever we come from."
"He's doing such a brilliant job," she said. Recalling a brief handshake with Francis after giving her speech, Markas said she was still in disbelief: "I can't believe I shook his hand and kissed his cheeks, I'm not going to wash my face! It was brilliant."
Francis has a dynamic way of engaging the youth, she said, noting that many young people still crave connection with the Church, especially those who lack hope or who have experienced suffering or loss.
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She challenged the Church to listen and engage more with young people, calling for a "transformation" of approach. This isn't something that will happen immediately, she said, "but we are meeting this culture that desires to be connected and we need to address it in a more universal and listening way."
The pre-synod gathering, she said, "is the perfect example" of how this connection and listening can take place. "It's a real change, it's not something that is delusional or a fantasy. Young people want to feel a sense of value and purpose, they want to hear and understand and be able to understand."
Iraq
Shaker Youhanan Zaytouna, a 24-year-old seminarian from Iraq, told journalists March 20 that one of the biggest challenges the local Church faces is that many young people are leaving the country, opting to move abroad due to the threat of extremist violence and the country's ongoing political instability.
This presents a unique challenge for the future of the country, he said, explaining that "it's very hard to tell the Church to not allow youth to leave Iraq." Security is a big problem, he said, because one can ask the youth to stay, but there's no guarantee that they won't be killed later.
A Chaldean Catholic studying in Rome, Zaytouna said the Church has a big role to play in encouraging youth to stay in Iraq and helping provide the conditions for them to stay. However, "the problem is that the government needs to initiate this step."
Iraqi youth are being welcomed into other countries, but many want to return, he said. "[And] if the government isn't helping the heart, if they aren't providing that security, how can these youth return?" he said, adding that finding work is also a problem for many young families.
The seminarian also voiced concern over the fact that many young people, from various religions, are becoming either atheist or agnostic, calling it "a [big] a problem" for the future that will have to be addressed.
He also touched on the topic of vocations, saying the Church "must commit herself more to listening...and not only, but to learn to accompany."
Noting that he is still a young seminarian himself, Zaytouna said better accompaniment is needed, because "if the bishop doesn't accompany us, if the priests don't accompany us, or someone else, how can I stay on this path?"
At times parents try to prevent children from pursuing consecrated vocations, he said, noting there are cultural pressures that make it difficult to accept or follow such callings. However, he said there have also been times when formators pressure someone discerning, telling them they are not cut out for religious life.
Those discerning need to be encouraged and accompanied, Zaytouna said, explaining that "listening comes first; learn to listen, accompaniment comes and then the discernment."
Japan
Also participating in the pre-synod meeting is Yoshikazu Tsumuraya, a Japanese Buddhist from Fukushima who currently lives in Rome and works with the Japanese Buddhist Lay Movement. Before coming to Rome, he taught in a Buddhist seminary.
In comments to CNA, Tsumuraya said his organization has strong ties with the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and was invited to participate in the meeting as a representative of the Buddhist community.
"When I received this invitation, I was really happy, because having a knowledge of Christianity, it pushed me to get to know Christian youth," Tsumuraya said, explaining that he has worked with a lot of Christians and is very committed to interreligious dialogue.
Tsumuraya said he came primarily to listen and understand the different realities of youth from around the world.
In the case of Japan, he said the major challenges for youth are a widespread competitive and consumerist mentality, as well as the immense cultural pressure to be successful. And if youth don't give into this way of thinking, they might feel estranged from their peers or that they don't fit in, Tsumuraya said.
In cases when this happens, young people react in a variety of ways, he said, explaining that one big problem is that youth who feel that they don't quite fit in "are no longer able to go to school," due to the stigma they face, "so they stay home closed in their rooms."
Other major problems for Japanese youth are premature death due to "excessive work," he said, as well as suicide, which is a common phenomenon among teenagers in the country.
Tsumuraya voiced appreciation for Pope Francis' frequent references to the problem of teen and young adult suicide, which "is not just a Japanese problem, but it's a global problem."
"So thinking about this phenomena which affects the whole world, we must face it, above all in knowing the reality, then to think about how to accompany youth to avoid this terrible [phenomena]," he said.
The Americas
Nicholas Lopez, a 27-year-old campus minister from Dallas, Texas, is also participating in the meeting as one of three representatives from the United States.
Lopez gave his testimony during the opening session, pointing to various challenges young people have faced during his experience working with youth on campus.
In comments to CNA, Lopez said the major topics he wants to bring to the table during the pre-synod meeting are "the concerns of the Hispanic Americans in the United States, and the solidarity between us and them."
The topic is particularly timely in the U.S. as concerns continue to mount over President Donald Trump's strict immigration policies. Many, including a high number of college students whose parents are immigrants, have voiced fear about deportation.
In addition to issues affecting the Hispanic community, Lopez said he also plans to discuss mental health issues, the higher education system in the United States and "the way young people are impacted on college campuses."
Also participating in the meeting is 25-year-old Corina Fiore Mortola Rodriguez of Mexico. She came with a large group of other youth from Latin America, which is one of the youngest and most Catholic continents in the world.
In comments to CNA, Mortola Rodriguez said the message she wants the Church to hear this week is that young people like herself are "valid interlocutors," and they need to be listened to and helped to go deeper in finding solutions to the problems they face, such as drugs, violence, poverty and unemployment.
Pointing to Pope Francis' visit to Mexico in 2016, she said his encouragement to youth and his appeals to avoid hopelessness and the allure of gangs was "a call not of tension, but to action."
Her reflection echoed the Pope's March 19 opening speech, in which he told youth they need to approach problems with a "head, heart, hands" mentality. The call to "think, feel and act," Mortola Rodriguez said, is also a call to be "unified" and to make concrete resolutions in confronting the problems they face.
As an example, Mortola Rodriguez said she helps lead a theater workshop for incarcerated youth in Mexico, which has helped them to "heal the wounds that have caused through the crime they committed."
"[Through us] they can heal this pain that they have in order to be able to return to society and find a new form of work," because healing is essential for a person's reintegration into society, she said.
Speaking of the contribution of the Latin American Church, Mortola Rodriguez said one thing she hopes her continent can offer the universal Church is "joy," because Latin Americans are " known for our joy."
"I think youth should be more joyful," she said, and noted how there are many young people who reflect what Pope Francis says when he talks about youth who seem old because they have lost their joy and happiness.
Another topic Mortola Rodriguez said she wants to discuss is vocation, because many people think of their vocations as only the choice of a state of life.
"But no. The vocation is a call, a call today, to the present, to be active, to be happy and to do concrete actions that benefit my society," she said, and voiced her desire to fight against social evils such as human trafficking, and to fight to "stop the things that harm us."
