Youth Synod Fosters Synodality Between The Church and Young People

Abstract

The 2018 Youth Synod was a significant milestone in the Church’s journey to engage with those young people who are active members of the Church. The Youth Synod has given rise to several realizations within the Church, namely that the Church needs to listen to the voices of the  young people. The voices of young people are also a “theological locus” where, through the Holy Spirit, they dare to evaluate, criticize, and place their hopes in the Church. In carrying out its pastoral ministry, the Church needs to walk alongside young people. This is because young people are not only the object of the Church’s reflection and recipients of pastoral care initiating by the Church, but they are also the actors of pastoral ministry itself. The purpose of the study is to describe several elements of pastoral activities for young people which are synodal and mission-oriented. The author explains the  youth synod as an event which had produced a pattern of pastoral care for young people in relation to synodality. This study employs a qualitative approach through acomprehensive literature review. The Church needs to be synodal in its pastoral ministry for and with young people. This is because, in essence, the Church is always a synodal institution. The Church is born, grows, and develops, remaining sustainable because of its way of life (modus vivendi)and way of  acting (modus operandi) in a dynamic process of walking together.