Vatican City, Oct 13, 2018 / 11:04 am
A prominent South African cardinal said Saturday that the 2018 Synod of Bishops on young people, the faith, and vocational discernment can be a model for the way that Church leaders engage with youth in parishes and dioceses around the world.
Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durbin also called for revisions to a synod working document he called "Eurocentric," saying that the synod's work must take into account the situation of young people and the Church in other parts of the world, noting especially the needs of the Church in Africa.
The bishops meeting for the Oct. 3-28 synod are not only talking "about young people, but we're talking with them and to them," Napier said at on Oct. 13 press conference. He praised the conributions of 34 young people invited by Pope Francis to be active participants in a meeting predominantly comprised of bishops.
The cardinal said that those young people are active participants in the synod, offering short speeches, called interventions, just as bishops do, and participating in the small discussion circles that will help to shape the synod's final report.