The 15th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, commonly referred to as the Synod on Young People, is a Roman Catholic synod that took place 3–28 October 2018 and had as its theme "Young People, Faith, and Vocational Discernment". Its aim was to "accompany young people on their way of life towards maturity so that, through a process of discernment, they can discover their life project and realize it with joy, opening the encounter with God and with men, and actively participating in the building up of the Church and society".
Preparation
The theme was chosen by Pope Francis after consulting the members of the Synod Council chosen by the previous Ordinary Assembly, regional and national bishops' conferences, the Union of Superiors Generals, the leaders of the Eastern Catholic Churches, and others. The theme, according to Francis, would allow for consideration of the decline in priestly vocations along with the broader question of discerning one's vocation.
In January 2017, Pope Francis released a letter that invited "Young People" to contribute to the planning of the synod. He wrote:
In June 2017, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, announced the launch of a website to present the synod's planning document accompanied by a questionnaire in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Italian to gather suggestions and feedback on it. He said he hoped to organize a gathering of youth in advance of the synod. Its 53 questions, mostly multiple choice, were organized into seven sections and targeted at learning about local experiences specific to the younger generation.
The planning document said that its working definition of young people meant ages 16 to 29 and that it was prioritizing communication with them: "In pastoral activity, young people are not objects but agents. Oftentimes, society sees them as nonessential or inconvenient. The Church cannot reflect such an attitude, because all young people, without exception, have the right to be guided in life's journey." The synod planning document posed another set of questions to bishops to assess how they minister to young people and included some questions targeted to specific geographic regions and asked, for example, about responding to "extreme violence" or working in a society that is "greatly secularized."
In early July, he reported that the questionnaire had received more than 60,000 responses and the website had generated 173,000 "contacts." He said he hoped to reach "all young people, not only active Catholic young people." In September, he hosted a seminar with about 20 teenagers and young adults to hear their ideas on the planned Synod. The participants were uninhibited in providing advice about topics and struggling to understand what the synod proposed to accomplish.
Participants
Baldisseri announced in January 2017 that the synod auditors, attendees without voting rights, would be young men and women carefully selected to represent the entire world and would participate as key advisers throughout the process to the Pope Francis and the Synod of Bishops. These young people were:
Gabin Dimtooum, Chad
Jonathan Lewis, United States of America
Sebastian Duhau, Australia
Safa Al Alqoshy, Iraq
Vincent Nneji, Nigeria
Emilie Callan, Canada
Julian Paparella, Canada
Joseph Sapati Moeono-Kolio, Samoa & New Zealand
Yithzak Gonzalez, Panama
Briana Santiago, Italy
Briana Santiago, United States of America
Nikki Perez, Philippines
Father Jules Boutros, Lebanon
Thomas Andonie, Germany
Anastasia Indrawan, Indonesia
Oksana Pimenova, Russian Federation
Corina Fiore, Mexico
Yadira Vieyra Alvarez, United States of America
Mariano Garcia, Argentina
Nathaniel Lamataki, New Caledonia
Sister Nathalie Becquart, France
Gioele Anni, Italy
Sylvia Retamales Morales, Chile
Margie le Hodey, Belgium
Tri Minh, Vietnam
Daniel Bashir, Pakistan
Percival Holt, India
Cherylanne Menezes, India
Prelates assigned particular roles were: Relator: Cardinal Sérgio da Rocha, Archbishop of Brasilia Secretaries: Giacomo Costa S.J. and Rossano Sala S.D.B Presidents: Cardinals Louis Raphael I Sako (Iraq), Désiré Tsarahazana (Madagascar), Charles Maung Bo SDB (Myanmar), John Ribat MSC (Papua New Guinea)
The presidents alternate in presiding over the synod assemblies in place of the Pope, making assignments and managing the proceedings as necessary.