(ANS – Vatican City) - Mons. Rosario Saro Vella, Bishop of Ambanja, elected by the Bishops of Madagascar, made his contribution to the work of the Synod on Thursday, October 18. The Salesian Bishop invited the Synod Fathers to listen to young people and to learn about their attitudes.

Africa and Madagascar are developing countries with a very young average age. In the patriarchal community, the elder is responsible for transmitting the values, customs ... but even if the elder has the final say, the real architect of change is the young person. Taking a cue from this, by Mons. Vella said: “We - as Church and Bishops - educate and teach. But those who teach have to be capable of learning. What can the young teach us?”.

The first attitude – citing the vigil for World Youth Day, Madrid 2011, when during the storm that hit the Cuatro Vientos airport, Benedict XVI said to the young people: “Your strength is greater than the rain” – it is the courage, the power. “The New Evangelization needs courageous evangelizers. It is said that Peter’s boat found itself in the middle of the storm. Let us be guided by the wind of the Holy Spirit and not complain if the waves make us think we are going to sink. Rather, we should prefer these risks rather than sailing in stagnant waters that only give us false security”.

The second, because young people when they talk like to be on the same level as the person they are speaking to, that is humility. “Many times we present ourselves to the world as haughty masters of a truth of which we think we are the only owners, forgetting that, instead, we are tired and weak pilgrims in the search for truth. In the dialogue within the Church, in ecumenical dialogue, in interreligious dialogue, in dialogue with the great religions or people with other convictions, should we not have this humble way of behaving?”.

The third is the joy, be it internal – that comes from God - and is external. “The young are asking us for a liturgy that is more joyful, more participatory, more in tune with their lives, a liturgy of singing and dancing. They ask us for a demanding but not negative morality, a morality that frees young people from the slavery of selfishness, relativism and hedonism, and that fills their hearts. The young are asking us for a faith that is not intellectual but vital. A faith that passes through the mind but reaches the heart”.

The fourth: “The young are very keen on working together with a view to sharing their experiences, and helping each other. The young teach us the Spirituality of Communion. It is a conversion, a change of mentality”.

And, finally, the fifth attitude that young people have to be taught is the love on the cross. “The Cross is the sign of an infinite love, of a love that does not fear death but that gives life for those who love each other. The Cross is a sign of the victory over personal evil and evil in the world. The Cross is ‘our glory, salvation and resurrection’. Ave, Crux spes Unica”.Mons. Vella then concluded by quoting two young Saints: Pier Giorgio Frassati and Chiara Luce Badano.

Published 22/10/2012