Youth don’t understand the language of the Church and vice versa: Pontifical Council

February 09, 2013: Young people often do not understand the language of the Church and the Church does not understand the language of youth, pointed out the concluding statement of the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Culture. The statement was released on Saturday in the Vatican at the conclusion of the Plenary Assembly.

The statement observed that it is important to listen to youth culture to know the various "terrain". It is even more urgent to have a respectful proximity to the multi-verse youth. The problem today is to decode the multiple received data. Communication fails due to an abyss of cultural misunderstandings, since the transmission of the faith is overcome by methods and without a credible and meaningful witness. Despite these negative indicators of sociological analysis of youth cultures, it opens up exciting new reasons for hope.

The statement noted that St. Gregory the Great, in the transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages, wrote the Pastoral Rule, which pointed to the duty to proclaim the Gospel, to respect the diversity of the recipients of the Word, which compiles a list of 35 types. Today, the reality of youth itself requires special attention, a critical discernment and conversion of the language and attitudes.