English

V Bogoti v Kolumbiji je od 14. do 18. januarja 2022 smo imeli pomembno srečanje mladinskih voditeljev Skupnosti Emanuel iz Latinske Amerike, in sicer kot vrhunec sinodalnega potovanja, ki se je začelo konec leta 2020. Srečanje zaključuje proces spoznavanja realnosti latinskoameriške mladine, da bi predlagali novo pot, ki bo ustrezala njihovim potrebam v naslednjih desetih letih. V ta namen smo v letu 2021 opravili intervjuje s psihologi, vzgojitelji, duhovniki, mladinskimi voditelji in drugimi, da bi z njihovega vidika razumeli težave, s katerimi se soočajo mladi, ter njihove sanje in interese. Mladinski voditelji v vsaki državi so izvedli tudi lokalne sinode, da bi ugotovili, kateri vidiki ovirajo ali olajšujejo pot vere mladih, ter predlagali konkretne ukrepe, ki odgovarjajo na potrebe in izzive prihodnosti.

Poslušanje Svetega Duha

Želeli smo upoštevati poziv papeža Frančiška, naj bomo odprti za poslušanje Svetega Duha, ko je zapisal: Ta nas vodi tja, kamor želi Bog, in ne tja, kamor nas vodijo naše ideje in osebni okusi. In prav to je bil namen srečanja v Bogoti. Zbrali smo se mladinski voditelji iz Brazilije, Čila, Kolumbije, Nikaragve in Peruja. Z njimi je bil moderator Skupnosti Emanuel Michel-Bernard s svojo ženo Catherine, več posvečenih sester in nekaj duhovnikov Skupnosti. In končno jaz sam. V teh dneh smo z velikim veseljem in navdušenjem doživljali slavilno molitev, evharistijo in adoracijo. Doživeli smo trenutke bratskega druženja, trenutke tišine, branja in molitve, ki so nam omogočili, da smo bili pozorni na poslušanje Svetega Duha, intenzivne dneve dela v ekipah za zbiranje informacij s sinod, ki so potekale v vsaki državi, in določanje prednostnih nalog za predlagane ukrepe. Deležni smo bili tudi zanimivega predavanja o preprečevanju (spolnih) zlorab v Cerkvi, ki ga je imel pomožni škof v Bogoti mons. Luis Manuel Alí Herrera. Povabil nas je, naj Cerkev postane varen dom, za kar moramo priznati svoje napake in se iz njih učiti, se soočiti s težavami, sprejemati preventivne protokole in poskrbeti za žrtve. Ker se zaveda, da ta problem vpliva tudi na druga področja družbe, nas je pozval, naj sodelujemo z družino, šolo in digitalnim svetom, da bi ustvarili zaščitno okolje.

Od prvega dne bogoslužja je bil Sveti Duh očiten v njegovem pozivu k edinosti, poslušanju Božjega glasu in pripravljenosti zapustiti vse, da bi sledili Jezusu. Povabil pa nas je tudi, da moramo po poslušanju in razločevanju, kaj Gospod zahteva od nas, imeti pogum, da delujemo in opravljamo delo, ki temu ustreza. Molitev in poslanstvo morata iti z roko v roki. Potem ko smo od Gospoda prejeli toliko ljubezni, moramo biti pripravljeni obroditi sadove, ki jih od nas pričakuje. Pojdimo naprej! Toda ne delajmo tega sami. Moderator je spomnil na znano spodbudo Pierre Goursata: Nič brez bratov.

Težave in vrednote

Med sodelovanjem smo ugotovili, da je vsaka lokalna stvarnost drugačna in da je treba predloge prilagoditi vsaki državi posebej. Vendar smo na koncu našli enotnost sredi različnosti, saj velika večina globokih težav, s katerimi se soočajo mladi in ki jim preprečujejo napredovanje v veri, izvira iz nezaceljenih družinskih ran, pomanjkanja človeške formacije, družbe, ki nenehno napada človekovo dostojanstvo, in pomanjkljivih točk v javni politi. Pa tudi v napačni viziji Cerkve kot klerikalne ustanove, ki ne sprejema vseh, ki sodi in kritizira, ki omejuje svobodo ljudi, ki ima predlog, ki je daleč od človeške resničnosti in ga je nemogoče uresničiti.

Vendar ni vse negativno. V Skupnosti in Cerkvi najdemo tudi dragocene bisere, ki nam pomagajo napredovati v veri, prejeti formacijo in rasti v svetosti. Med njimi izpostavljamo bratski sprejem, skupno hojo v veri, pristna prijateljstva, ki imajo svobodo, da nas soočijo, kadar se motimo. Vidimo tudi, da je tehnologija zbližala nekatere brate in sestre, ki so bili fizično daleč, in omogočila dostop do dragocenih vsebin vere. Očitno je bilo, da so se med pandemijo povečala dela služenja in ljubezni, kar nam je dalo luč upanja v človeštvo.

Spodbuda za misijon

Po skoraj dveh letih pandemije, ko so nas preplavile številne slabe novice, ko so bile cerkve zaprte in so številne dejavnosti v Skupnosti potekale prek zaslona, lahko rečem, da smo . Zdi se, da sta se žalost in osamljenost še povečali, ogenj pa je oslabil naša srca. V času, ko se je zdelo, da je najbolje ostati na kavču in udobno gledati Netflix ali se vtihotapiti v družbena omrežja in videoigre, da bi se izognili resničnosti, so bili ti skupni dnevi bratov resnična obnovitev v milostih Skupnosti Emanuel. Sveti Duh se je ponovno izlil v naša srca in ponovno obudil željo, da bi šli na srečanje v evangelizacijskem poslanstvu.

English

The synod in Bogota

In Bogota, Colombia, from January 14 to 18, 2022, an essential meeting of youth leaders from Latin America, belonging to the Emmanuel Community, took place as the culmination of the synodal journey, which began at the end of 2020. The meeting closes the process of getting to know the reality of Latin American youth to propose a new path that responds to their needs in the next ten years. For this purpose, in the year 2021, interviews were conducted with psychologists, educators, priests, youth leaders, among others, to understand from their point of view the difficulties faced by young people, as well as their dreams and interests. The youth leaders of each country also carried out local synods to identify which aspects hinder and facilitate young people’s faith journey and propose concrete measures that respond to the needs and challenges of the future.

Listening to the Holy Spirit

But we also wanted to follow the call of Pope Francis to be open to listening to the Holy Spirit as he said: He who leads us where God wants us to go, and not where our ideas and personal tastes would lead us. And that is what the meeting in Bogota was all about. The youth leaders from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Nicaragua, and Peru gathered. The moderator of the Emmanuel Community, Michel-Bernard, joined them. He was accompanied by his wife Catherine, several consecrated sisters, and some Community priests, including myself.

We lived with great joy and enthusiasm the praise, eucharist, and adoration during these days. We had moments of fraternal fellowship, moments of silence, reading, and prayer that allowed us to be attentive to the listening of the Holy Spirit, intense days of teamwork to gather information from the synods held in each country and prioritize the proposed measures. We also received a fascinating talk on preventing (sexual) abuse in the Church, given by the auxiliary bishop of Bogota, Mons. Luis Manuel Alí Herrera. He invited us to make the Church a safe home, for which we must recognize our mistakes and learn from them, face the problems, assume prevention protocols, and be attentive to the victims. Knowing that this problem also affects other spheres of society, he asked us to work together with the family, the school, and the digital world to generate protective environments.

From the first day in worship, the Holy Spirit was evident in His call to unity, to listen to the voice of God, and to be willing to leave everything to follow Jesus. But He also invited us that after listening and discerning what the Lord is asking of us, we should have the courage to act and do the work that corresponds. Prayer and mission must go hand in hand. After receiving so much love from the Lord, we must be willing to bear the fruits that He expects from us. Let us go forward! But let us not do it alone, “Nothing without our brothers,” as Michel Bernard used to say.

Difficulties and values

As we worked together, we identified that each local reality is different. The proposals must be adapted according to each country. However, in the end, we found unity amid diversity, since the vast majority of the deep problems faced by young people that prevent them from advancing in the faith are rooted in unhealed family wounds, lack of human formation, a society that constantly attacks human dignity and deficient public policies. But also in a false vision of the Church as a clerical institution that does not welcome everyone, that judges and criticizes, that limits people’s freedom, that has a proposal far from human reality and impossible to achieve.

But not everything is negative. We also find precious pearls within the Community and the Church that help us advance in faith, receive formation, and grow holiness. Among them, we highlight the fraternal welcome, the walk together in faith, the genuine friendships that have the freedom to confront us when we are wrong. We also see that technology has brought closer some brothers who were physically far away and has made possible access to precious contents of the faith. It was evident that during the pandemic, works of service and love increased, which gave us a light of hope in humanity.

A boost for the mission

Finally, it’s been almost two years since the beginning of the pandemic, a time in which we were inundated with so much bad news, in which the churches were closed. Many of the community activities were done through a screen. It seemed sadness and loneliness grew, and the fire weakened our hearts. A time in which it appeared that the best thing was to stay on our couch comfortably watching Netflix or inserted in social networks and video games to evade reality, these days together as brothers were a genuine renewal in the graces of the Emmanuel Community. The Holy Spirit has been poured into our hearts again. It has rekindled this desire to go out to the encounter in the evangelizing mission.