What we learned

Notes from a class discussion compiled by Joe Boenzi

TA2160 - 11 January 2017

Alberto Vazquez (Spain)

Alberto: Interesting in this experience was making contact with young people from other countries through classmates who had worked in youth ministry. I discovered how different the young people of South America are from the youth in Spain. There they seem to be more dedicated in terms of culture and faith. Their social commitment is deep and their religiosity is very expressive.

Moises Constancio Ruiz Rios (Bolivia)

Moises: Sharing each week made for a very rich experience in this course. Attitudes are different according to different cultures, but because young people in each of our cultures face similar problems, our differences can become a catalyst for trying different solutions. I believe our sharing can help us to take a more open approach in our ministry.

Rigoberto Alfonso Cruz (México)

Rigoberto: The sharing has been rich, and it enabled me to know differing realities in different countries. Pastoral people look for attitudes, answers – and it is the work of ministers and parents to try different approaches because youth do not stand still. They are on the move. It is necessary to look for new ways to accompany them in a changing world.

Maria Teresa Cardoso Freire da Rosa (Brazil)

Maria Teresa: I really appreciated hearing the experiences of my colleagues in the group, and for me it was like a breath of fresh air, not only for the Church but for me personally. In fact, I think that we are taking a deep breath and that we all want to evangelize. In taking this new breath, the Church is going out, beyond her limitations, and reaching out to those who need Good News. And as I participated in the discussions, I felt that we were in line with all that Bergoglio emphasized at Aparecida, and now as Pope Francis, Bergoglio is leading the way for the whole Church. This feeds creativity. (In speaking of «Aparecida», Maria Teresa is referring to the Fifth Conference of all Latin America Bishops, held in May 2007 in the city of Aparecida, Brazil; at Aparecida, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was elected by his brother bishops to chair the important committee that was charged with drafting the final document).

As our discussions went forward week by week, I realized that many things are different in our different contexts. Spain is living a post-Christian reality; Spanish-speaking Latin America is still full of evangelical ferment… and I thought, Brazil is in-between these two realities. Spanish-speaking Latin America is where we were ten years ago. Does that mean that then years from now, we will become as post-Christian as Spain is? And I thought, “Oh my God, is this where we are headed?”

Spain is living a reality that they are calling “post-Christianity.” In Latin America, instead, the Church experiences enthusiasm in the New Evangelization. It is important to say that young people do leave the Church also in our countries. From our conversations in this course we realize how important it is to take Evangelization seriously. Our countries, and perhaps especially Brazil, watches Europe and imitates Europe more and more. Understanding this, we have come to understand that we have many things to learn and much to do.

 Joe : After all four of the members of the Spain/Latin America group had shared, I asked how did the Latin Americans if they had any reactions to the issue raised by Alberto concerning the cultural differences between Western Europe and Latin America.

Rigoberto responded: Spain is living a reality that they are calling “post-Christianity.” In Latin America, instead, the Church experiences enthusiasm in the New Evangelization. It is important to say that young people do leave the Church also in our countries.

Rigoberto clarifies for us

From our conversations in this course, Rigoberto continued, we realize how important it is to take Evangelization seriously. Our countries, and perhaps especially Brazil, watches Europe and imitates Europe more and more. Understanding this, we have come to understand that we have many things to learn and much to do.

Rafał Muda (Poland)

Rafał: Our group was called the Italian-speaking group, but actually we have been the international group. The four of us represented East Asia (Japan), Africa (Burundi), Western Europe (Italy) and Eastern Europe (Poland). We were the global group of the class.

Now, Rafał stressed, my area is Catechetics and not spiritual theology, which is the area of study of everyone else in the group. For this reason, the discussions brought out many aspects that were new to me. An image that struck me from the readings was that of a broken mirror. Poland seems to be a strong Christian country, but Poland too is at risk when, in its strength, it condemns others. In Poland we need to accept the young as they are. It has been a rich experience for me to hear the experiences and the opinions of others. This has been very helpful.

Ernesto di Fiore (Italy)

Ernesto: There was great diversity in our group. Although each of the others are working in Italy, which allowed us to understand the local situation in this part of the world, they brought other perspectives to our conversations – perspectives from Poland, Africa and Japan. It allowed me to face the reality that I live. Faith always evolves with culture. To work well with youth, it is vitally important to listen to them.

Yoshikazu Tsumuraya (Japan)

Yoshi: I liked the sharing sessions to focus on the theme of spirituality, ministry and faith. Many young people want to be spiritual but do not want to be religious. We are under the influence of globalization, and so we are all connected to one another. In Japan, the situation is similar to that which we find described in Europe. The activity of responding to the reading with two questions struck me. The two questions situate us in the context of the reality that the readings describe. The two questions also place us midway between the young people and the adults. From that midway position, we are prompted to ask ourselves how to best accompany both the young people and their parents or teachers or educators. We are invited to read reality, to know how to look at the world from their point of view, and to accept their reality and, then, to learn how to witness to them about the spiritual reality that we are already trying to live.

Benjamin Gahungu (Burundi)

Benjamin: What I liked most was also the dynamic of the two questions – addressed to young people and to pastoral workers. The process became an invitation to accept young people as they are; to accept them with their values and their fragility; to become more deeply involved in their world, and to allow the young to be more deeply part of the Church.

Summing up my impressions I would say that, first of all (1), this all means that the young people are the protagonists. They have values to propose and we can start from there. Context is vital. These help us to understand and to proceed. Secondly (2), in our context technology dominates. We often think that our tech-savvy young people are far from us, but maybe we are the ones who are distant. The Church needs to get close and to let development take place. Thirdly (3), educators, catechists and youth ministers must meet young people (and people in general) where they are and begin a new journey with them. It is in this meeting them that we become witnesses of the Gospel. As Paul VI said, “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers – or if he listens to teachers, it is because they are witnesses” (Evangelii nuntiandi, §41).

Angelo Sylvester Roshan Miranda (Sri Lanka)

Roshan: The course, and especially the group process, pushed me to reflect on the context in which our youngsters live, and to try to understand their experience. I come away asking how I might better accompany the young. This is not easy, but it is our responsibility. It requires commitment and sacrifice.

John Peter Savarimuthu (India, Missionary in South Sudan)

John Peter: I came to this course with a lot of hope, for I have lived in a place where young people are looked upon with suspicion. They are told that music is bad, that social interaction is bad, that play is bad. This is because they have been born in a situation of war, and war has colored everything in the country for the last 30 or 40 years, if not longer. What struck me in the course is how the natural interests of the young can be endorsed (music, pop culture, social interaction and involvement) and become means for them to grow, mature, and even encounter the Gospel. From an experience where young people usually hear only “NO”, I have learned from the experiences of others in this course that “YES” is possible. As for the Preventive System, which is often also interpreted in a negative sense, I am taking away the idea that Reason, Religion and Loving Kindness can be truly educative when Loving Kindness is given precedence. Love is what motivates, and we educators and evangelizers are called to witness to the God of Love.

Vijaya Prakash Reddy Maramreddy

Prakash: Often in my experience educators can feel that young people only want to contradict, and instead, from our sharing, I’ve begun to reflect that maybe we adults can be very boring. We need to work with the young, to value their desires and to help them to take the lead. This is what accompaniment is about.

Note by Joe: Missing from the discussion was Deli Kapani, who was suddenly called home to India yesterday because his father is in critical condition. Classmates expressed their concern and want to assure Deli and his family that they are accompanying his father with their prayers.

Deli Kapani (India)