Voices of young people in the Synod

Abstract The absence of young people in Catholic churches in many parts of the world, especially in the more economically advanced countries, is a cause for great anxiety within Catholic communities. This is expressed in relevant research literature and the three recent synodal syntheses of England and Wales, Ireland and Scotland. This article explores the key concept of synodality, some of the research on the religious affiliation (and disaffiliation) of Catholic young people and the voices and views of Catholic young people in the synodal process in the three syntheses. The views of the young people in the three syntheses are clustered under six themes: (1) absence from Church; (2) accusations of hypocrisy; (3) concerns about teaching on sexuality; (4) Catholic Social Teaching; (5) the importance of parents and (6) the ways in which young people can engage in the Church. Many of the comments of the young people in these three syntheses confirm some of the research findings and, crucially, the young people provide suggestions on the ways ahead in which they can be more active in the Church—‘being’ Church, rather than ‘doing’ Church.