Young Catholics want more engagement at Church: Synod Report

Young Catholics who participated in the Synod are yearning for a Church they can actively engage in. This is the consensus of the Archdiocese’s Synod on Synodality Report. The report, available in seven languages, included contributions from students, youth, and young adults from around Hudson, Bergen, Essex, and Union counties. The Archdiocese of Newark’s Office for Youth and Young Adult Ministry has begun developing and implementing plans to respond to the youth’s desire to be seen and heard in the Church.

“Together with the Office of the Chancellor and individual Parish ministries, we put together youth listening sessions and focus groups for youths to participate in the Synod,” Richard Donovan, Associate Director for the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries at the Archdiocese of Newark, said. “We have been having ongoing conversations with young people about their feelings towards the church.”

Father John Job, the pastor of Church of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Franklin Lakes, N.J., is pictured with students in Mr. Quintilian’s eighth grade class at The Academy of the Most Blessed Sacrament who recently participated in a synod listening session. (Photo courtesy of Father John Job) — Father John Job, the pastor of Church of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Franklin Lakes, is pictured with students in Mr. Quintilian’s eighth-grade class at The Academy of the Most Blessed Sacrament who recently participated in a synod listening session. (Photo courtesy of Father John Job)

Many young people who participated in the sessions — including 1,224 students from middle and high schools and all four Catholic universities in the Archdiocese — feel the Church does not accept them or listen to their concerns about social issues and mental health.

One central theme of the Synod report is that young people feel disconnected from the Church and feel there is a lack of engaging social and faith-based activities for them to participate in. The Synod report indicated that “in general, young people who participated in confirmation programs do not remain active members of the parish.”

Donovan said the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry (OYAM) was not surprised by the Synod results concerning young Catholics as they have been collecting data on the youth engagement crisis for several years. As a result, the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry has been implementing several initiatives to address low youth engagement numbers for the last several years.

As one response to the Synod on Synodality, the Archdiocese of Newark is coordinating a pilgrimage of young people to attend World Youth Day in August 2023. World Youth Day is the gathering of young people from all over the world with the Pope. Since its first edition in Rome in 1986, World Youth Day has proven to be “a laboratory of faith, a place of birth for vocations to marriage and consecrated life, and an instrument for the evangelization and transformation of the Church,” according to the World Youth Day website. The Archdiocese will provide 50 significant scholarships to qualifying youth aged 16-35 who apply to attend. The scholarship application deadline is Dec 8. Click here for more information.

Archdiocesan response to Synod concerns

Every year, OYAM hosts several “CALLED” rally days for Archdiocese youth as an opportunity for middle and high school students and teens preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation. The retreat or rally allows teens in Youth Ministry Programs to gather, socialize, and participate in faith formation. The rallies include music, prayer, breakouts, general sessions, lunch, closing Mass, and more. OYAM has three CALLED rallies this year, including one coming up in mid-November.

In 2017, OYAM also rolled out a new youth leadership initiative: the Archdiocese Youth Ministry Advisory Council (AYMAC). AYMAC provides teens in high school youth ministry the opportunity to give youth a voice within the Church. Although the initiative slowed down during the pandemic, Donovan said that OYAM is looking to restart the program soon.

“We want to see several teens in the program that represent each county in the Archdiocese,” Donovan said. “Those who participate in the program will become advocates for the youth of their parish communities. We want to create youth leadership opportunities within the Church.”

OYAM also reaches out to youth through Catholic Scouting for both the Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts. They work with the Diocesan Catholic Committee on Scouting to provide resources, booklets, and Catholic emblems and recognitions for Catholic adults and youth in scouting. On June 5, a special Mass was celebrated with Bishop Lorenzo at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart for Catholic scouts around the Archdiocese.

A special Mass was celebrated in June with Bishop Lorenzo at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart for Catholic scouts around the Archdiocese. (ARCHDIOCESE OF NEWARK)

OYAM has also been working on advertising the Global Celebration of Young People planned for November. Catholic faith communities worldwide are encouraged to celebrate and reflect on youth and young adults annually on Christ the King Sunday. In 2020, Pope Francis called for a renewal of the global celebration of young people in the local churches in every diocese and eparchy. OYAM has been working diligently to share USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) resources for liturgies, celebrations, and more with Archdiocesan parish communities.

Increased focus on communication with parishes

Although OYAM offers many events and resources to parishes to help them develop their youth ministry, a consistent theme within the Synod report was that parishioners do not know enough about OYAM to take full advantage of its resources. To address this issue, Donovan said that OYAM is in the process of updating its information booklets and getting them out to parish communities.

“There is a lot of new leadership in place after COVID, so we are also connecting with new pastors and church leaders to get the word out about who we are and what we offer,” Donovan said.

Another theme of the Synod report was the disconnection between youth and liturgy.

“Particularly noted was the lack of liturgical experiences [Masses] that teens can fully participate in or fit their style of worship. Many parishes also do not have service opportunities for youth and younger children that can help to connect youth to Catholic Social Teaching,” the Synod report states.

Donovan said that OYAM is actively putting together a checklist for parishes to evaluate their youth friendliness. OYAM’s goal, according to Donovan, is to create welcoming environments for youth in every parish, even those that do not have the resources for their youth ministry.

Promoting programs for young adults

Aside from promoting its youth events and programs, OYAM has also been working on getting the word out about local young adult groups prospering in the Archdiocese.

“We are trying to act as a conduit for the information for these young adult groups that are meeting and doing wonderful things around the Archdiocese. We are facilitating advertising for them to get the word out about their programs,” Donovan said.

One such young adult group, Faithfully United in Eucharistic Life (F.U.E.L)., a regional young adult group that runs out of Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Oradell, has become popular in the Catholic community of Bergen County. The group, which hosts meetings and social events for young adults aged 21-35, has amassed a significant following on social media, at their last Friday of the month meetings, and frequent social outings.

“I wish more people could see what I see,” Ellen Solinas, Youth and Young Adult Minister at Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church, said. “If you just watch these young adults and teens, you can see that our faith is alive, well, and strong. We might be small in numbers, but we are mighty in spirit.”

F.U.E.L. held a Fall Ball recently. (COURTESY F.U.E.L.)

The group was started in January 2020. Although lockdowns went into effect in March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic did stop F.U.E.L. from continuing to promulgate their ministry. Solinas said they continued to host their youth and young adult ministries virtually. Over Zoom, the group hosted meetings, parties, and even Holy Adoration. When they returned to in-person meetings, the ministry continued to grow.

Very soon after Solinas started the young adult ministry at St. Joseph’s, she realized she would need to expand her program regionally if she wanted it to succeed. With the help of core group member Danielle Gherardi, she began to market the group to parish communities in the surrounding area.

On a given Friday, the group hosts 25 to 40 young adults from around Bergen County for faith formation and socialization. The group recently hosted a Fall Ball at Macaluso’s in Hawthorne, which over 70 young adults attended.

Solinas aspires to expand F.U.E.L and create a network of young adult groups throughout the Archdiocese with the help of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry. Solinas cited OYAM and Donovan as invaluable resources to her ministry.

“He [Rich] is truly an advocate for youth and young adults.”

Featured photo: A group with Faithfully United in Eucharistic Life explore Sterling Forest. (COURTESY F.U.E.L.)