Church revs up for October synod

From October 3 to 28, bishops from around the world will come together in Rome to deliberate on the themes of "young people, the faith, and vocational discernment."

In March, three U.S. representatives were part of a meeting of 300 international young adults who gave input to the bishops about the needs and concerns of young people. The document they produced is valuable reading for  vocation ministers and others who minister with young people. The group also produced a video.

The U.S. reprsentatives were: Brother Javier Hansen, F.S.C., a religion teacher at Cathedral High School in El Paso, Texas (and whose community belongs to NRVC); Nick López,  director of campus ministry for the University of Dallas; and Katie Prejean McGrady, speaker and youth minister.

In the press conference announcing the instrumentum laboris for the synod, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri called attention to three areas the synod will cover: "Recognizing: the Church listening to reality," "Interpreting: faith and vocational discernment," and "Choosing: paths of pastoral and missionary conversion."

Find further information at the synod website.