Congregación General 35: Sharing the Experience of the Congregation David Schultenover, S.J.

February 1, 2008Rome
Today in the aula we begin to hear reports from various groups on topics that will eventually be treated either in the form of decrees or as recommendations to the Society’s “ordinary governance,” that is, the Superior General or regional assistants and provincials. Today’s topics are youth, religious fundamentalism, and Africa. Interesting to note is the fact that for the first time in our history, the subject of youth has come up in a general congregation. Although the Society has been working with youth from our founding, the question arises, why are youth of special concern today? A partial answer: the influences of globalization and electronic communications are weakening traditional family and formational structures, exposing youth to very powerful agents of formation other than their traditional influences and often resulting in looser or even ruptured bonds and even, in some sense, redefining the meaning of human relations (think of the teenager — or a person of any age — who communicates with 400 of his or her closest friends in a single day. Perhaps we will soon see couples walking arm in arm down the street and talking to each other on their iPhones.) And these influences are global.

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