The first Synod on Youth in 2018

Apr 21, 2017

By Elise Harris
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, said WYD – which will be held in Panama Jan 22- 27, 2019 – needs to be prepared in tandem with the synod on youth “because WYD is for the youth. WYD has a history and a tradition, and now we’re having the first synod on the youth.”

Speaking to journalists during an April 9 meeting on synod and WYD preparations, he said, “We need to prepare with consultation from the youth,” explaining that at nearly 70 years old, “I don’t think like the youth do,” so there is a need to speak with them as well as the priests and bishops who are closer to their reality.

And this means speaking not just with youth who are constant Church-goers, but also those who are, perhaps, atheists or who no longer go to Church, he said, referring to comments Pope Francis had made on this point during the prayer vigil.

Perhaps the most difficult part of preparing, he said, will be to “enter into contact with the youth, but it needs to be done (and) we need to change the system that we use.” Rather than just sending out letters to bishops, Cardinal Farrell said the dicastery is looking to develop ways for youth to contribute online.

“We need to do what Pope Francis says: go out, go beyond the doors of the Church and of all the organisations” in order to reach especially those who are far off.--CNA