The fruitful dialogue among people of different Churches, religions and convictions is something very real in many parts of the world and something that should be encouraged in a world torn by division, prejudice and fear. This was the proposal offered by the young people of the Focolare Movement during the Pre-Synodal meeting that took place in Rome during March 19-24, during which Pope Francis heard the thoughts and concerns of the young people before the Synod of Bishops that will take place in October, which will discuss “The young, the faith and vocational discernment.” Noemi Sánches was among the representatives from the Focolare. She is twenty eight years old from Paraguay, originally from Brazil, holding a degree in Trinitarian Ethics from Sophia University Institute of Loppiano and in the second year year of her doctorate at the University of Perugia, Italy. We asked her to share a bit of her experience with us. “I’m Catholic and I belong to a Catholic Movement. For this reason I’m always mindful of ‘being Church’ wherever I am. Still, taking part in the Pre-Synodal meeting allowed me to experience for the first time this inner dimension of this event that the Church itself had set up for young people so that it might continue its journey with us. It’s not only a journey among us, but together with everyone, with all humankind, which is symbolically represented by other Christian Churches, other religions and also by non-believers, which shows that such a thing is possible and that at this moment in history we can no longer go on in any other way.” What do young people ask of the Church? “They are mostly asking for openness, sincerity and coherence, coherent examples who are near to others, guides that are unafraid to show their humanity, their mistakes, that they admit those mistakes and offer sincere apologies. That they be people with whom you can talk with an open heart about everything” The Pope invited you all to speak up with courage and “cheekiness”. What are some of the the more difficult topics that you anticipate you will be dealing with? “Some very timely and, perhaps, problematic such as homosexuality. Then there was a request for a more concrete stance on migration, refugees and wars. These topics reach beyond mere dogmatism, the family in the traditional sense and how to live it today when it is not like exactly like that. We never asked for a change in the doctrine, but how to understand it to the end in order to live it it out in today’s society. Perhaps this is already being done, but not in a way that is reaching the young people.” At the Pre-Synodal meeting you were among the representatives of Focolare young people from around the world. What are the young people asking of the Church and what are they proposing? What experiences do they have that they can present as a model to others? “Based on the experience in Rome among young people from so many backgrounds, faiths and cultures, with whom we haven’t only spoken but also lived together, shared meals together and enriched one another, the young people from the Focolare – who have the charism of unity, which means dialogue – have proposed that these kinds of gatherings continue abroad among people of all backgrounds. This experience, in fact, helps us to realize that the other person is another me, and that we have the same questions in our hearts, the same challenges, which we approach in different ways, that are also an enrichment for all of us. So each of us as something to give, and it’s a giving that provides a wider vision, a more complete and enriching experience. Together we can arrive at the point of providing concrete answers to the problems we all experience.” That is a valuable witness in times that are so marked by prejudice and indifference, when it’s easier to build walls and fences than bridges, or reaching out to someone who is different. How was this counter-current proposal received? “By the grace of God, within the Focolare Movement we’ve been living this way for many years and have been holding these kinds of meetings. But even in this space provided for us by the Church for the young people, our proposal was listened to with much joy and satisfaction by people who don’t even know of the Movement and live in different ways. When the time came for concrete proposals, in my group, I proposed that we apply this model of relationship even when we confront other topics, always with this dynamic of openness to everyone, in which everyone lives and takes part together, discovers themselves and one another more. All of the young people immediately agreed. It was unanimous. But we had to acknowledge that there were older and bigger people who listened in and made comments, but I could see in them – not a refusal – but a bit of fear, the fear that the tendency to “go out” towards the other would make them to lose their own identities. However, the young people who had had some experience with this dynamic, immediately realized that you don’t lose your identity, but you enrich it. Obviously, your religious identity has to be carefully form and deepened, but you can give that identity and, when you do, you make room for the other. The young people who lived it, understood it and wanted it. In this sense, we lived out what Pope Francis had said to us at the beginning: You young people have to dream the dreams of the old, but also prophecy, that is, go beyond the dream. And I think that what we lived in Rome was a translation of that exhortation into real life. We wanted to be Church and we realized that to do that we had to go beyond the traditional structures. The Church is universal, so we have to be open to all, welcoming all and reaching all, in order to become more fully what we already are.” Read the full document: