Rome (Italy). “We humanize, evangelize, educate, and are courageous in challenges and proposals because the Church invites us today to be forward-looking about young people”. The words of the greeting of the Rector Major of the Salesians, Fr Àngel Fernández Artime came through a video message and recall the great opportunity that the Synod is for educators and evangelizers. Fr. Fernández Artime invites you to not to be afraid because young people need to hear said to them: “What do you want to do with your life? What do you think God’s dream is for you? How do you think you can live your life as gift and as service? “.
The third session of the International Congress focused on “Educational perspectives in a Salesian key”. For this, which is the main focus of the event, some perspectives of pastoral educational intervention were offered, starting from the original contribution of the Salesian educational charism.
Professor Wim Collin, of the Salesian Pontifical University, studying in particular the biographies of young people written by Don Bosco, investigated “how young people made their choices or how they were accompanied and guided in making them”. From the analysis some constants result: clarity of the formative proposal, the educator as guide, the influence of the environment; the young people’s willingness to let themselves be accompanied; the fundamental role of religion in becoming “good Christians” and “honest citizens”.
The second presentation was entrusted to Prof. Eliane Anschau Petri, of the Auxilium Faculty of Educational Sciences. The aim of her talk was “to deepen the mystagogical dimension of Mother Mazzarello in the accompaniment of vocational choice”, based on her letters and other documentary and narrative sources.
Prof. Piera Ruffinatto, from the Faculty of Educational Sciences Auxilium, reflected on the combination of “prevention and education to choose” and highlighted the contribution of the Preventive System in accompanying young people to discernment and choices. Salesian pedagogy is the treasure to be preserved and encourages us to educate young people about choices. It is a matter of believing and loving young people “by putting all our effort into leaving them as a heritage, a welcoming world as good soil to make them flourish as joyful Christians and solidarity-minded citizens”.
The intervention of prof. Michal Vojtáš, of the Salesian Pontifical University addressed “the theme of Salesian pedagogy of choice and of vocation”. Starting from some fundamental changes in Salesian pedagogy after Vatican Council II, he outlined some basic pedagogical principles to map out responses “to the challenges in the post-modern context” and to identify concrete proposals “linked to educational-pastoral planning processes”.
