By Alison Pope
Associate Director, Office of Evangelization and Catechesis
“The youth are the future of our church.” I cringe anytime I hear somebody use this phrase. I understand that most that use this phrase are well-intentioned. However, I don’t believe that they realize the message they are inadvertently conveying.
By saying that the young people are the future of the church, we imply that they are lesser members of the church, if they currently have a place at all. However, the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that by the nature of baptism, we are all members of the church. “The person baptized is incorporated into the church, the Body of Christ, and made a sharer in the priesthood of Christ” (CCC 1279). Our belonging in the church is not dictated by age, but simply by our initiation through baptism.
While it is true that today’s young people will one day make up the majority of the church, that does not mean they should not have a voice today. The statistics show that young people are leaving the church at an alarming rate. They may choose to distance themselves from the church for many reasons, including but not limited to, “a clergy ill-prepared to engage effectively with the sensitivities of the young … [and] the passive role assigned to the young within the Christian community” (Christus Vivit, 40). Some suggest one of the reasons for their exodus is that young people do not feel a sense of belonging. While one could argue as to who bears responsibility in developing that sense of belonging, I believe telling young people they are the future of the church hinders their sense of belonging by conveying the message, “You can have a spot here … eventually.”
In Christus Vivit, Pope Francis reminds us that Jesus himself welcomed young people and did not look down on them simply because of their age. He writes, “Let us also keep in mind that Jesus had no use for adults who looked down on the young or lorded it over them. … For him age did not establish privileges, and being young did not imply lesser worth or dignity” (CV 14). That bears repeating. Or, as some of the young people would say, louder for those in the back. A person’s age does not determine their worth or dignity. Young people have just as much to offer to today’s church as the rest of us. While they may not have as many years of experience, that does not mean that their experiences are invalid or insignificant. During my years of ministry, I have encountered numerous teens who have experienced more hardship and growth that has helped them to gain knowledge and maturity than some twice their age. We must always keep in mind that just because somebody’s experiences are different than our own does not make them worthless or insignificant.
Pope Francis also reminds us that “Those of us who are no longer young need to find ways of keeping close to the voices and concerns of young people. … We need to make more room for the voices of young people to be heard” (CV 38). In order for us to help young people find their place in the faith community, we must be willing to listen to their experiences and needs. I have had innumerable conversations with people who share their frustration that young people are no longer drawn into the ministries at their particular parish. Yet, too often the ministry is being run the same way it was twenty years ago. Today’s young people do not respond to things that worked in the past. Their worldview and experiences are different. Their needs and the needs that they see needing to be addressed in the world are different. Or a community may look at what they deem a successful youth ministry program at a neighboring parish and think they must copy it exactly in order to achieve the same success. Yet, Pope Francis reminds us, “Today, in fact, we see a tendency to ‘homogenize’ young people, blurring what is distinctive about their origins and backgrounds, and turning them into a new line of malleable goods” (CV 186). Every community is different, and in the same way, the young people in that community are different. We must look at the needs of those in our community and address them in ways that work for our realities. The ways that we give young people a place of belonging in our community will look different, but that is the beauty of our Catholic faith — it is not a one-size-fitsall faith. We must be willing to truly listen to the young people and then respond in a pastoral and real way to the things they are sharing with us that takes into account their backgrounds, cultures, and experiences.
Some who use that cringe-worthy phrase that youth are the future of the church do so because they focus on the negative things they hear about young people. They don’t think the youth are at a place in their lives where they can contribute to the faith community. Pope Francis reminds us that to think this way only brings division. “We adults can often be tempted to list all the problems and failings of today’s young people. Perhaps some will find it praiseworthy that we seem so expert in discerning difficulties and dangers. But what would the result of such an attitude? Greater distance, less closeness, less mutual assistance” (CV 66). Every person I have encountered who has spent a significant amount of time with a young person would tell you that young people are better than society and media give them credit for. If we are constantly looking for the mistakes a person makes, regardless of age, they would be right to leave and find a place where they are supported and helped to grow from their mistakes. The same is true for young people in our church. None of us is perfect, yet too often we expect perfection from young people. Our jobs as the adults in the community are to mentor them, to help them continue to grow and give them a safe place to discover how to develop their talents and gifts and to grow in faith. Young people bring a sense of hope and joy to our communities that are desperately needed, especially in our current times. As Pope Francis reminds us, “To talk about young people is to talk about promise and to talk about joy” (CV 139). We must start a congregational shift so that all members of our churches see the joy and hope the young people bring and encourage their presence and contributions.
When talking about the number of young people leaving the church, many respond that they will return when they’re older. Yet, studies are showing that is not true. Again, if we have given the message that they don’t have a place now, why would they believe that they’ll have a place later in life? We must recognize that youth and what they have to offer is valued and needed now. This time in their life is not simply a time of waiting. As Pope Francis writes, “Making the most of our youthful years entails seeing this season of life as worthwhile in itself, and not simply as a brief prelude to adulthood” (CV 135). Young people have gifts, talents, and skills now that they can share with the larger church. It is not a time of simply waiting for them to reach a specific age so that they can develop and use their gifts and talents.
Young people are the church now just as much as any other member. “We cannot just say that young people are the future of our world. They are its present; even now, they are helping to enrich it” (CV 64). We have a responsibility to them, as initiated, baptized members of the community, not only to make room for them, but also to give them a place to belong and welcome them to the proverbial table with open minds, hearts, and arms. Without them, there is no future for the church.