Monaco (Germany) Salesian Forum 2020 took place from 25 to 28 August 2020 at the Salesianum of the Salesians of Don Bosco in Munich.   SDB, Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, scholars, and interested people from different European countries met to address the theme of the fragility and vulnerability of young people.

The Salesian Forum, which takes place every two years since 1968 (until 2012 under the name of Salesian Colloquy), is a meeting organized by an international team whose members represent some Salesian pastoral and educational institutions: Don Bosco Vorming & Animatie Belgien, Salesian Pontifical University, and the Pontifical Faculty of Science of Education  “Auxilium” of Rome, Jugendpastoralinstitut of Benediktbeuern (Germany) and  Don Bosco Bildungsforum Österreich of Vienna (Austria).

The purpose of the Forum is to keep dialogue alive at the European level on issues in the fields of pedagogy, pastoral care, and spirituality, as well as promoting the exchange between theory and practice, and making a Salesian contribution to current topics.

In the 2020 edition, various speakers alternated in exploring the theme, bringing it into their experience. Jean-Marie Petitclerc, SDB, educator and founder of the “Le Valdocco” Association in Argenteuil in France, spoke about the vulnerability of young people and how it can be addressed in the perspective of the Preventive System of St. John Bosco. Dr. Katharina Karl, Director of the Jugendpastoralinstitut of Benediktbeuern, underlined in her presentation the importance of being “educators who know how to be human companions, not superheroes”.

Wim Collin, SDB, professor at the Salesian Pontifical University of Rome, and Sister Maria Maul, FMA, Provincial of the Province of St. Maria Domenica Mazzarello of Austria and Germany (AUG), dealt with the themes of fragility and vulnerability starting from the life of Don Bosco and of Mother Mazzarello.

Sr. Piera Ruffinatto, FMA, Principal of the Pontifical Faculty of Science of Education “Auxilium” in Rome, offered some “ideas for a re-reading of the Preventive System from an inclusive perspective”, while the moderator of the Forum, the Belgian Carlo Loots, SDB, focused on mediation in the context of sexual abuse. Finally Roger Burggraeve, SDB, Professor Emeritus of Belgium, addressed the ethical aspect of vulnerability, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

The participants also paid a visit to the “Zentrum für Umwelt und Kultur”, the Center for Nature and Culture in Benediktbeuern, where Claudius Hillebrand, contact person of the “Jugendpastoralinstitut”, treated the theme of vulnerability as a pedagogical challenge.

Fr. Petrus Obermüller, Former Provincial of the Salesians of Don Bosco in Austria, who participated in three editions of the Salesian Forum, summarizes the aims of the experience as follows: “In this meeting fundamental issues are discussed, trying to provide answers from a Salesian perspective to the questions of our time, which are then elaborated on a scientific level and have a practical confirmation in our realities”.

Forum 2020 Monaco di Baviera

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.