What Do Young People Want from their Church? Pope Francis Listens and Responds

“A static Church is a museum church,” Pope Francis told students from Catholic universities in North, South, and Central America and the Caribbean as he and some of their student representatives conversed via YouTube on February 24 as hundreds of us listened in. When we go to a museum, he continued, we knock on a door, and if someone answers, we enter and view what has been preserved. The Church, however, “must go out the door and be the road” – to welcome, accompany, and inspire hope.

I had tuned in because, like all of us I think, I wanted to know what young people are thinking, what their concerns are, what ideas and solutions they propose. I was hoping, of course, the subject of women’s and all genders’ ordination and leadership would come up but learned the focus was to be more narrow, on immigration and building bridges. That’s a critical topic relating to anyone excluded in any way, I thought, and so I happily stayed.

Hearing the Pope state that the Church was not to be a static museum church half way through certainly made my heart sing, but other parts of the conversations did, too. I want this post to be brief and so I’ll just touch on a few. (By the way, I was initially wary of all this because one of the clerics from host university Loyola Chicago had prompted the participants to be sure to: “Ask the right questions.” That felt like the usual kind of constriction/warning we so often hear from on high. Also, I discovered the students who were to speak had been pre-selected, to minimize free form comments, I guessed, which was disappointing if not unexpected, but I did learn later that some, at least, had been chosen by their peers. And so I set cynicism aside and was rewarded.)

Students began by telling the Pope how much they struggle with hope even as they seek it. Many were migrants or children of migrants and saw themselves as continually unvalued and marginalized, especially if they came from indigenous cultures. Many talked about how much they wanted to preserve and celebrate their roots even while they pursued their dreams in a new world. One said, “We are not only striving to learn a new language and are also struggling to integrate our roots into it.”

I was moved by their plight (as was the Pope), and I also saw how similar it was to our own in the Church. How do we all learn a new language for a new Church while also integrating the roots we so treasure?

One student also lamented the silence of Catholic bishops on climate change and other issues so critical to young people. Another expressed frustration at the distance so many priests keep from, not only young people, but all their parishioners and their concerns: “Priests rarely discuss climate change; parishes take no actions, and this leads to our doubts and disillusionment with the Church.”

The Pope had promised concrete answers (and had already applauded some the students themselves had proposed), and here he gave one that surprised us all. His advice to engaging bishops in ecological responsibility, in integrating immigrants into the community, in serving the poor: “Know you have Gospel-based messages. Negotiate your solidarity.” More directly, he said, “Pastors who are not close to the flock are not true priests; they are just members of an establishment. They lack the essential element of priesthood, knowing and caring for people’s concerns. Priests must be in front, in the middle, and behind the people. Tell them we need to be close to each other. Tell them we all need each other.”

The conversation lasted almost two hours, and I have not mentioned here the wealth of ideas and concrete actions young people are taking now and planning for the future. All may struggle with seeing hope in their future, but that is not stopping them. We cannot help but be encouraged.

The Pope ended by saying the dialogue had changed him.  Me, too.