Tallinn, Estonia, Sep 25, 2018 / 05:51 am
Pope Francis said in Estonia Tuesday he is aware of the negative feelings many young people have toward the Catholic Church and their disappointment in a lack of clear denunciation of sexual scandals.
Young people are outraged "by sexual and economic scandals that do not meet with clear condemnation," he said Sept. 25, and by the Church's "unpreparedness to really appreciate the lives and sensibilities of the young," assigning them passive roles.
Addressing youth at an ecumenical gathering in Kaarli Lutheran Church in Tallinn, he said the Church knows "that many young people do not turn to us for anything because they don't feel we have anything meaningful to say to them."
He pointed to the Instrumentum Laboris of the upcoming Synod and what it says young people want from the Church. He said the Church has heard these complaints and wants to be a "transparent, welcoming, honest" community.