ROME — The Catholic Church needs the enthusiasm, daring and hope
of young people so that it can preach the Gospel energetically and respond to
the questions men and women raise today, Pope Francis told some 300 young
adults.
"We need to rediscover in the Lord the strength to get up
after failure, to move forward, to strengthen hope for the future," the
pope said March 19, opening a weeklong meeting in preparation for October's
Synod of Bishops.
Most of the young people gathered with the pope at the
Legionaries of Christ's Maria Mater Ecclesia College in Rome were chosen as
delegates by their national bishops' conferences. Others represented a variety
of Catholic movements or ministries, including religious life. But the Vatican
also invited delegates from other Christian churches, other religions,
including Islam, and young people who describe themselves as nonbelievers.
Pope Francis told the young people that they are the ones who can
help the church fight "the logic of 'it's always been done this
way,'" which he described as "a poison, a sweet poison that
tranquilizes the heart and leaves you anesthetized so you can't walk."
The church and its members must continue to go out, continue
asking what God is calling them to and continue finding new ways to respond,
the pope said.
Of course, he said, everyone must "keep an eye on the
roots" of the church and preserve its essential teachings, but they also
must find creative ways to share those teachings and reflect on how the Gospel
responds to people's questions today.
Spending the morning with the young people, Pope Francis heard
directly from 10 of them, who represented every region of the world. Some
lamented the amount of time their peers spend on social media, while others
spoke of how technology helps connect young people and rally them in support of
good causes. Some talked of a need for better catechesis and support in
fighting the "culture of relativism," while others asked for an open
and honest discussion of the church's teaching on sexuality and on the role of
women in the church.
And one, a seminarian from Ukraine, asked about tattoos.
Yulian Vendzilovych, a seminarian at Holy Spirit Seminary in
Lviv, asked the pope how a young priest is to judge which parts of modern
culture are good and which are not. He used the example of tattoos, which many
young people believe "express true beauty," he said.
"Don't be afraid of tattoos," the pope responded,
noting that for centuries Eritrean Christians and others have gotten tattoos of
the cross.
"Of course, there can be exaggerations," the pope said.
But a tattoo "is a sign of belonging," and asking a young person
about his or her tattoos can be a great place to begin a dialogue about
priorities, values, belonging, "and then you can approach the culture of
the young."
A young man from France, Maxime Rassion, told the pope he has not
been baptized, but he has questions about the meaning of his life and his
relationship to the world and to God, if God exists. He said he is not sure if
he wants to approach the Catholic Church for help because it is so big and he
doesn't want to give up his freedom. But he asked the pope where he should
start.
"You have already begun," the pope told him. "The
danger is not allowing the question to come up."
Young people must have "the courage to tell themselves the
naked truth" about their hopes and weaknesses, the pope said, and then
they must find a wise person — someone patient, "who won't be frightened
by anything" — with whom they can talk through their questions.
Blessing Okodion, a young Nigerian rescued from forced
prostitution in Italy, asked the pope what could be done to increase awareness
of human trafficking and whether the church, which is "still too
chauvinistic," really is capable of helping young women and men relate to
each other as equals.
Noting that the vast majority of Italians are Catholic, Pope
Francis said one must assume that about 90 percent of the men who use
prostitutes in Italy are baptized.
"Prostitution is a serious problem," the pope told the
young people. It stems from a widespread mentality that says, "women are
to be exploited," he said, and he asked young people to "battle
against this."
"One who goes to a prostitute is a criminal, a
criminal," Pope Francis said. "This is not making love. This is
torturing a woman. Let's not confuse the terms. This is criminal."
Like many of the speakers, Angela Markas, a Chaldean Catholic and
a delegate from Australia, spoke to Pope Francis and her peers about young
people's questions regarding their identity.
As the Australia-born daughter of two Iraqis, who lives in a
multiethnic country and is connected by social media with people all over the
world, Markas said it was difficult to know who to listen to and to know
"which path should I take, given that I can virtually take any."
"As youth, we are in need of guidance," she said. But
from talking to friends, family and young people she tutors, "I feel young
people are less drawn to seek this guidance from someone associated with the
church. There are many reasons, but a consistent one is that youth feel
disconnected from the church."
"Youth do not always feel they have a place in the
church," she said. "They need a place where they feel safe, welcomed
and loved."
But they also want the church to take them and their concerns
seriously, Markas said. "There is a tendency in the church to avoid
matters that are not so easy to talk about. This includes same-sex marriage,
our sexuality, and also the role of women in the church."
Nick Lopez, a campus minister at the University of Dallas and a
delegate chosen by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, also addressed the
opening session with the pope and focused on the youth and young-adult years as
a time of transition: "moving, choosing, experimenting, failing,
succeeding, fearing and hoping that that next steps we make are the steps that
God is calling us to make."
Many young people today, he said, have already decided that the
church is not relevant to them. But they are still searching, and church
members should go out to meet them and help them see that Christ is the answer
to many of their questions, he added.