Quand les jeunes interpellent l’Église : le discours ecclésial à l’épreuve de la synodalité

Abstract

A transversal reading of several recent ecclesial documents, both universal and regional, serves to evaluate how the Catholic Church speaks about young people through the lenses of communion, co-responsibility, and mission.
From the symbolic gesture of John Paul II at Harissa in 1997 to the texts emerging from the current synodal process, a persistent tension comes to light: the gap between a theology that proclaims the baptismal equality of youth and ecclesial practices often marked by exclusion or marginalization.
The analysis reveals a crisis of ecclesiological identity, in which institutional discourse on youth struggles to translate into concrete recognition.
It calls for a profound synodal conversion, in which young people are no longer seen as passive recipients but as ecclesial subjects bearing the promise of a Church in the making.