24 April" "
“We’re happy that the bishops should speak with us and not just about us. But unfortunately the language of the Church is still not that of the young”. So said Ute Theisen, youth delegate of the German Episcopal Conference, at the press conference held to introduce the 10th Symposium of European bishops in Rome on 24 April. “From this meeting he added we wish that the hope of building the Church of today and of the future may be born”. “When churchmen speak of Christ said the German delegate they do so using theological, almost abstract, terms, beyond the comprehension of the young. So a clearer language needs to be used. Try speaking of ‘redemption’ or ‘Redeemer’. It is easy to realize that these are concepts almost wholly absent in the young, who prefer instead to model their conduct in concrete ways on the figure of Jesus and to gauge his importance in their life”. But it’s not just a problem of language. In Theisen’s view, in fact, “the young tend to live their faith outside the Church, also because they are disenchanted with this as an ‘institution’. That’s why the Church must go out to meet young people without further ado. It’s up to the Church to take the first step. She must create places where she can meet the young, also on the street, if necessary. There are 30-year-old priests who don’t know how to speak to the young and that’s incredible”. That view is shared by Veronique Bourdat, national coordinator of the “Scouts de France” and youth delegate of the French Episcopal Conference at the symposium. In Bourdat’s view, the difficulties of communication also derive from the generational conflict. “Recovering the trust of the young in the Church through dialogue and contact” is, according to the French delegate, a fundamental step “to recall their direct commitment in the ecclesial community”. Nor could she fail to mention, lastly, the presidential elections in France: “What’s happening is very grave. We were shocked by the results of the poll. Spontaneous demonstrations throughout France also saw many young Christians take to the streets to say no to extremism”.
