Sisters offer their take on the Synod of Bishops

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Women religious participating in the Synod of Bishops at press conferenceSeven women religious are participating in the Synod of Bishops on Young People, and offer their unique take on it, affirming that young people are truly being heard.



Sr. Nathalie Becquart from France, Sr. Teresina Cheng Chaoying from China, Sr. Sally Marie Hodgdon from the US, Sr. Mina Kwon from Korea, Sr. Alessandra Smerilli from Italy, Sr. Lucy Muthoni Nderi from Kenya and Sr. María Luisa Berzosa González from Spain are representing women religious at the Synod of Bishops on Young People.
They held a press conference on Monday evening. Before fielding questions, two of the English-speaking sisters provided their unique take on what is happening.

Listening differently
Sr Sally Marie Hodgdon, Superior General of the Sisters of St Joseph of Chambéry observes that those participating in the Synod of Bishops came “wanting to do something new” and there is “a sense of openness to what they were hearing”.
In her 4-minute intervention, Sr Sally focused on the first part of the Instrumentum Laboris, which speaks of listening. She shared how “important it is for us as Church to listen differently to our youth who are present in the Church…and who will help co-create our future”.

Challenge to let go
Her challenge to the Bishops is to let go of “some of our traditional views of youth” – that they’re not ready, responsible, or reliable—and instead “embrace their ideas and listen with a different type of openness than we have ever had before”.
The response after interventions is a clue to Sr Sally that this type of listening is indeed being practiced in the Synod Hall. Applause, she said, is very strong after an intervention from one of the young auditors.

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Source: Bernadette Mary Reis, 16 oct 2018,  Sisters offer their take on the Synod of Bishops, in Vatican News, [https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2018-10/synod-youth-2018-women-religious-sisters.html]



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