The pandemic and the outbreak of dramatic conflicts have changed many things, both in the world and in China. The generation of young people born after the turn of the millennium is one of the most affected. Young Chinese people, whether they are believers or not, are more like their peers in other countries, with whom they share digital and social life, than like the generations that preceded them.
Siegburg () – The 11th European Colloquium on the Church in China, which began on Thursday 22 August, concluded today in Siegburg, not far from Cologne (Germany).
Nearly 120 participants from around fifteen countries gathered for an event that has already become a tradition, organised by the China-Zentrum in Sankt August, Germany. Around 50 participants were Chinese: lay people, scholars, religious women and priests from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, or living in Europe for reasons of study or pastoral service. Representatives of the Orthodox and Protestant missionary communities also attended. The Bishop of Cologne, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, was present and presided over the Mass.
The theme of the Colloquium is of great and current interest: young people. The last meeting had taken place, again in Germany, five years ago, during which the pandemic and the outbreak of dramatic conflicts have changed many things, both in the world and in China. The generation of young people born after the beginning of the millennium has been one of the most affected.
The situation of young people in Hong Kong was addressed in the opening address by the Bishop of that city, Cardinal Stephen Chow, who referred to the numerous initiatives of the diocese that involve and support young people. He focused in particular on the Light Up Project for young people arrested following the 2019 protests. The diocese supports them to continue studying during their detention and facilitates their reintegration into society by helping them find work and reunite with their families. The project covers educational, emotional and psychological needs. The diocese is also attentive to young people who have been left on the margins of society following the protests.
Bruno Lepeu, a missionary of the MEP who has been working for many years with young Chinese Catholics, spoke about their spiritual and existential journey. With their faith, they renew the life of the Church, giving us a feeling of hope. Political issues and the difficult relationship with the Vatican distract attention from the life of young people, who live the challenges of faith in the same way as young people around the world. Through shared reading of the Bible, trusting in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and with the awareness of the baptismal mission, young people live a synodal and participatory ecclesial experience.
Two young Catholic scholars described, based on their personal experience and through studies and statistics, the profound changes that have taken place among young people in the new millennium. Far removed from the traditional values of culture and politics, they seem to have given up on the existential goals of the generations that preceded them: finding work, buying an apartment, getting married and having children. After a generation that aspired to get rich in order to meet material needs, there is a generation that describes itself as frustrated, unhappy, aimless and desperate. It is very difficult for young people to “take the arduous path that allows them to emerge from this mental and emotional desert.” As confirmation of this worrying reading, the subsequent interventions in the Colloquium referred to the tragedy of the frequent suicides that affected many families during the terrible confinements.
Psychological, emotional and affective difficulties are also experienced by young people who are training in seminaries (Fr. Fabio Favata, PIME). Joseph Gao Jingchuan, a Chinese priest living in Germany, gave a very significant intervention on the abuse of minors in ecclesial environments in China, the first to refer to this topic.
Jesuit scholar Antoine Ren has made an in-depth analysis of the life of Chinese Catholic students at European universities. Their faith is free from the constraints that it has in China, but at the same time they have to deal with the discouragement caused by the impact of the deep crisis in the practice of faith. Many of them naively considered Europe to be a Christian continent and they discover the contradictions of Catholic communities, divided between traditionalists and progressives. They are perplexed because faith and politics are also mixed in Europe.
Gao Shining (Beijing Academy of Social Sciences) and He Guanghu (Beijing People’s University) are two well-known and respected emeritus scholars of Christianity. They spoke about Sino-Christian theology, which, after decades of great development, is now facing the difficult challenges of the post-Covid era, of conflicts in the world, of the rise of intemperate nationalism and a certain centralization of thought.
Young people in China and around the world share the same struggle for life, the same emotional anguish and rejection of the future. The challenge of young people is transversal and concerns us all, and naturally also young Chinese Catholics, who are no different from their peers. They feel uncomfortable with traditional and clerical practices, as well as with liturgical celebrations, which they tend to abandon. Young Chinese people, whether believers or not, are more like their peers in other countries, with whom they share their digital and social life, than like the generations that preceded them.
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