19 March 2018
What a bursting occasion this Pre-Synod! We are 300 young people coming from all over the world, all wishing to say what we think and to tell the Church and the world that we are here and that we want to be protagonists of our present times.
The speech by Pope Francis was very extensive and very clear. He urged us to speak courageously and to listen with humility, because the Church’s desire to listen to young people is great and the contribution which we will be giving these days will be indispensable for the Bishops’ Synod in October. The Pope does not want us “to keep at a safe distance” and was the first to do this by answering questions put to him by some young people and which were not censored. The Pope is right: we, young people, want a Church which is nearer to us and adults who help us when it comes to important choices. We want them to be there with their advice and with their mistakes. It is natural that we do not want to be young-old people at the age of 20. Rather we should avail ourselves of this opportunity, which the Church is giving us, to follow the Pope’s advice, that is to risk, to dare to open to new ventures and, notwithstanding the obstacles, go through this risk prudently and fearlessly, with the apostles’ creativity and always remembering not to detach ourselves from the past but to be prophets of old people’s dreams.
In the afternoon, we started working in language groups and tried to answer 5 questions related to the challenges and opportunities which we, as young people, face today. This discussion will contribute towards the compilation of the document on Young People which will help the Bishops in the Synod in October.
I really think that we cannot hold back but should do our best so that everything which the Pope has told us becomes our lifestyle so that we may truly be building a better world starting from every corner of the earth.

Luisa Alfarano – IFCA Youth Coordination 

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