From the exchanges, it emerged that the Preventive System and the Salesian Pastoral Educational Plan (PEPS) constitute the basic model in the formation of the missions in all stages of formation, without forgetting the "Reference Framework for Youth Ministry" and the importance of the Educative Pastoral Community (EPC). At the same time, there were complaints about the tendency to privilege the parish apostolate at the expense of adequate accompaniment. Therefore, the Delegates for Youth Ministry were asked to be actively involved in the Formation Teams to develop a mentality of Ongoing Formation.
Furthermore, the need for joint formation with the laity was underlined, as the Church and the Congregation are insistently calling for. And to achieve this goal, a change of mentality is also necessary.
In their interventions, Fr García Morcuende and Fr Coelho each presented the theme: “Formation and accompaniment of the apostolic dimension - Proposal of a project of elements to be considered” from the point of view of Youth Ministry and Formation.
Fr García Morcuende concentrated his reflection on the “Framework of Reference for Youth Ministry”. He affirmed that relegating the pastoral dimension to a second level is a serious mistake since man gradually grows in all dimensions. He recalled that pedagogical mediation was also necessary because if there is no pastoral model of reference, one ends up carrying out a "downward" pastoral model.
Furthermore, the General Councilor for Youth Ministry remarked that culture was changing today, and for this reason, the Salesians would have change in order to bring young people to an encounter with Christ. He then affirmed that the whole EPC is responsible for youth ministry in the educational mission and that therefore the EPC should not be just a document, but a mentality. Finally, he concluded by inviting the participants to help young people discover what it means to be Salesians starting from the very houses of formation.
Fr Coelho, on his part, urged those present to learn from experience - an experience that requires "contemplative listening", which is necessary because it allows one to experience interior life and thus to re-read the pastoral life and know the motivations of the young people in formation. At the same time, he underscored that the formator, in order to be able to read the feelings of young people, must know how to read his own feelings and emotions in the first place.
Finally, he stressed that the formation of formators must be based on "learning to listen" because "God has given us only one mouth, but two ears".
https://www.infoans.org/en/sections/news/item/13919-kenya-meeting-of-formation-and-youth-ministry-delegates-of-africa-madagascar#sigProId724e9e11f9
