Today, October 19, 2018, the morning session was devoted to working in groups on the adoption of the relations regarding Part 3 of the Instrumentum Laboris. The discussion focused on the meaning of the message of faith and how the action of God is expressed. The topic of the difficulties that young people meet with on their path was also addressed.
“With regard to the transmission of faith, there is a need for a great deal of cooperation between priests, Christian communities, and pastoral helpers in developing an itinerary of accompaniment, discernment, and integration. In this area, there are considerable deficiencies, for example, the poor cooperation of church entities when it comes to transmitting the faith. Often, there is also a lack of dialogical reference or a common reference to the truth,” said Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, President of the Polish Bishops’ Conference.
The relation evokes different ways of getting this message to young people, including through sports and music. “The relation also emphasizes the important role of the parish and the oratory as places that adults prepare for the young, thus giving them great opportunities for meeting, friendship, sports, or human and spiritual experiences,” noted Archbishop Gądecki.
The relation also highlights the difficulties faced by young priests. “The point is for young priests to take responsibility for the formation of the young. Sometimes young priests flee into an environment where the pastoral work is quieter, where they find recognition,” said Archbishop Gądecki.
The second part of this morning’s meeting was devoted to discussions on the proposals for Instrumentum Laboris. “They touched on point no. 149, i.e., the need for a certain synergy between the humanities and the sciences regarding the things of God. This has happened in Catholic schools and universities that gave young people a good professional preparation but did not necessarily prepare them to live by faith,” said Archbishop Gądecki.
