Ariccia (Italy). From April 30th to May 4th, 2018 the SEDOS Residential Seminar took place at the house of the “Divine Master” in Ariccia, on the theme: Youth and Mission.
The aim of the Seminar was to deepen knowledge on topics concerning the XV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Youth, Faith and Vocational Discernment – which will take place in Rome, next October 2018
The seminar saw the participation of 110 religious and lay people, among them, some invited young people who are in contact with various religious Congregations.
The Seminar alternated moments of prayer, meeting with experts, group work, sharing in the assembly, and a party evening with the presence of the Youth Choir Diapason, the pupils and former students of the Volterra and Touschek high schools of the Castelli Romani
The first day was dedicated to the theme Young people and the participants had the opportunity to listen to two very interesting conferences: “The Contemporary Youth Culture between Right and Wrong” (Emilia Palladino) and “Generated by Life to Correspond to Love” (Bruna Zaltron, SCM).
The second day was dedicated to Faith / Evangelization, and Paul Raj, FSG spoke on the topic, The Role and Challenges of Evangelization for Youth in today’s Multicultural and Pluralistic World; and Michael Papenkordt spoke on Evangelized Evangelize – the Role of Lay Missionaries Today.
The third day was dedicated to vocational discernment, and the report, Apprenticeships of the Vocational Ministry in the United States was presented by Paul Bednarczyck, CSC, followed by a Round Table composed of young religious missionaries who discussed the theme, My fascination with being a missionary today.
At the end of the Seminar, the participants were able to listen to Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, who presented the journey taken in preparation for the Synod on the young, underlining the five sources of preparation for the Synod: 1 – A questionnaire answered by the Episcopal Conferences, the Eastern Church, religious institutes, and the Roman Curia; 2 – An international seminar on the youth world; 3 – An online questionnaire for all young people; 4 – Some spontaneous interventions received from different parts of the world; 5 – The Pre-Synod held before Holy Week 2018, with young representatives from all the continents.
The FMA Institute, a member of SEDOS, was present at the Seminar with the participation of the collaborator for the Mission Sector, Sr. Maike Loes. The next edition of the Seminar is scheduled from 28 April to 2 May 2019, in Assisi, on the topic of Interreligious Dialogue.
SEDOS – Service of Documentation and Study on the Global Mission
SEDOS is a forum open to institutes of consecrated life that are committed to deepening their understanding of the global mission.
SEDOS encourages research and disseminates information through its bulletin and Website, public conferences, working groups, and its annual seminar.
