Priests and bishops have the joyful duty of accompanying young people, as fellow disciples, towards Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church. That’s according to Archbishop Leo Cushley of St Andrews & Edinburgh who addressed the Synod of Bishops presently gathered in Rome (3-28 October) to discuss the issue of “Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment.”
“We bishops and priests cannot delegate away or dispense ourselves from this duty towards young people, no matter how unlikely or unworthy - or even old! - we may think ourselves to be,” said Archbishop Cushley, 9 October.
“Ultimately, I believe that we have a duty as pastors that we cannot leave to others. Let’s not send them to Christ, as if it were someone else’s responsibility: rather, as fathers, as brothers, let’s bring our young people to Christ, as fellow disciples.”
The Synod of Bishops is an assembly of bishops from around the world who assist the Roman Pontiff by providing counsel on important questions facing the Church. Yesterday’s session was chaired by Pope Francis himself. Appropriately, Archbishop Cushley highlighted Scotland’s national patron, St Andrew, as a model of youthful, apostolic accompaniment.
“Often, I think of the figure of St Andrew bringing his brother Peter to the Lord in the Gospel of St John, and I notice also that Andrew didn’t send Peter to Jesus, he went with Peter, he accompanied him, in other words he brought him to Jesus."
While this apostolic task can be undertaken by others, including young people themselves, it is often bishops and priests “with the heart of true pastors” who are “among the best placed to bring them to the Lord, personally, as well as though their sacred ministry,” he said. To do this, however, the life of the priest or bishop has to be rooted in a deep, personal and loving relationship with Jesus Christ.
“The priest among the young must be a disciple who knows his own Master Jesus with a personal love that, in spite of his weaknesses and struggles, touches his spirit with deep fulfilment and joy: cor ad cor loquitur,” said Archbishop Cushley.
“Both the messenger and the message must be authentic and credible. We cannot simply exhort the young to love and follow Christ, we must live it ourselves first, then preach His Word and explain it to them.”
The destination of this process of accompaniment, he proposed, has to be Jesus Christ and the fullness of the Catholic faith.
“We must bring young people to the whole of the Apostolic Faith,” said Archbishop Cushley, “This is not out of concern with laws and traditions for their own sake, but because this is what will communicate to them the fully Divine personality of Jesus.”
Such accompaniment also requires an apologetic – an explanation of the Catholic faith – that reassures the youthful mind of the harmony which exists between faith, reason and science.
“We must show young people the full majesty of the Wisdom of God which can embrace the genuine insights of human science and answer the questions and perplexities of the human mind,” said Archbishop Cushley, “We must present the full New Testament vision of Christ for whom the cosmos was created and in whom everything finds its definitive fulfilment."
- Reproduced below is Archbishop Cushley’s synodal intervention in full:
Most Holy Father,
my brother bishops,
dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
On the theme of accompaniment of the young, I believe that two fundamental questions arise: who is best placed to accompany them and to where are they accompanying them? Accompaniment is of course a function of the whole Church community, but I want to emphasise that pastoral accompaniment, a heading that I looked for in vain in this section, is particularly suited to priests in their care for souls. We bishops and priests cannot delegate away or dispense ourselves from this duty towards young people, no matter how unlikely or unworthy - or even old! - we may think ourselves to be. As we know, it is not always younger priests nor those who might think of themselves as “good with youth” who necessarily make the best apostles of the young. This is not patronising, or paternalism, or condescending: this is the act of a true father, a true brother.
Often, I think of the figure of St Andrew bringing his brother Peter to the Lord in the Gospel of St John, and I notice also that Andrew didn’t send Peter to Jesus, he went with Peter, he accompanied him, in other words he brought him to Jesus. Many can bring our young people to Christ by personal witness, it is true, including young people themselves, but I believe that bishops and priests, with the heart of true pastors, are among the best placed to bring them to the Lord, personally, as well as though their sacred ministry. This then answers the question: to where should we bring the young? A priest should not attract disciples to himself, but be a fellow disciple, and make disciples for Christ. The priest among the young must be a disciple who knows his own Master Jesus with a personal love that, in spite of his weaknesses and struggles, touches his spirit with deep fulfilment and joy: cor ad cor loquitur.
Young people often question trusted adults closely, and even assertively, to test if they really mean what they say, and also because Christianity is disparaged by the world, and the young are looking for answers to clarify their own minds and consciences. Both the messenger and the message must be authentic and credible. We cannot simply exhort the young to love and follow Christ, we must live it ourselves first, then preach His Word and explain it to them.
Similarly, we must bring young people to the whole of the Apostolic Faith. This is not out of concern with laws and traditions for their own sake, but because this is what will communicate to them the fully Divine personality of Jesus: He Himself taught the Apostles as a true friend (cf. John 15:15) with an authority that attracted them because it was not like the Scribes and Pharisees (cf. Matthew 7:29).
We must show young people the full majesty of the Wisdom of God which can embrace the genuine insights of human science and answer the questions and perplexities of the human mind. We must present the full New Testament vision of Christ for whom the cosmos was created and in whom everything finds its definitive fulfilment (cf. Ephesians 1:3-12; Colossians 1:15-20). As it says in Gaudium et Spes, Christ is “the key, the focal point and the goal of humankind, as well as of all human history" 1.
Ultimately, I believe that we have a duty as pastors that we cannot leave to others. Let’s not send them to Christ, as if it were someone else’s responsibility: rather, as fathers, as brothers, let’s bring our young people to Christ, as fellow disciples.
Thank you.
- Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, 10.