As the Vatican released the preparatory document for the 2018 synod of bishops on “Young people, faith and vocational discernment”, Palmerston North Bishop Charles Drennan said the value of knowing the thoughts and aspirations of young people in the Church can never be overestimated.
The preparatory document included a series of questions to be answered by national conferences of bishops and other Church bodies. Responses, along with input from youth, will be used to help prepare the synod’s working document.
Drennan, the secretary of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference and one of the New Zealand representatives at the last synod, said it would be great if New Zealand’s bishops “could see the contributions coming from young Kiwis”.
In a letter accompanying the preparatory document, Pope Francis encouraged young people to tell him, their bishops and pastors of their (youths’) hopes, struggles as well as criticisms. Continue reading in NZ Catholic