XV Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October 2018

The preparatory document for the XV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to take place in Rome in October 2018 has just been published. This synod in particular has a lot of interest for our school leaders. The title is Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment. Continuing the recent practice of preparation for a synod, there are questions in the document to help draft the Instrumentum Laboris, or working document of the synod.

The questions are about the experience of our young people today, such as “What are the main challenges and most significant opportunities for young people in your country?” This would be an ideal opportunity to engage our pupils in a major exercise in student voice. By ‘young people’ the document has in mind the ages of around 16 to 30 but I would have thought that in schools we could involve any of our pupils in a version of the questionnaire. Individual dioceses will I’m sure be planning their own consultations, but there is an opportunity here for CISC schools to help out and suggest ways in which this could be organised.

The preparatory document can be found on the Vatican website at: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/synod/documents/rc_synod_doc_20170113_documento-preparatorio-xv_en.html