Journey Together

• Journeying Together is the USCCB’s contribution to the recent global Synod process and Christus Vivit, which both focused on the engagement and protagonism of youth and young adults. The vision of Journeying Together is to “translate” and implement Christus Vivit for the Catholic Church in the United States, as the process engages young people and ministry leaders from each and every cultural family in this country: African Americans; Asian and Pacific Islanders; European Americans; Hispanic/Latinos; Native Americans and Alaska Natives; and migrants (inclusive of ethnic communities), refugees, and people on the move.

• The goal of this process is to listen attentively to the voices of all the young and all who accompany them, and as a Church, work together towards a more responsive, diverse, and just society. It is also an opportunity for the transformation of the way the Church engages in pastoral ministry with youth and young adults of all cultures.

• Journeying Together uses the synodal model: listening and discernment, co-responsibility and participation, all moving toward proactive mobilization (Christus Vivit 206) – and applies it to the Catholic Church in the United States, driven by and with young people. Within the context of the current moment in our nation, we are already being led by youth and young adults “going into the streets” to demand justice (Christus Vivit 174). Amid this crucial and historic moment, young adults and ministry leaders are coming together in this process to have amazing, respectful, and honest conversations on faith, culture, and community.

• Journeying Together creates a safe space for all those who are involved to reflect on the problems and concerns that affect each cultural community in their own unique way, while also acknowledging the gifts and talents that each community brings to the table.

• Journeying Together will be a great contribution to our society and to the Catholic Church. Its very process models how dialogue and action can be done well – with respect, honesty, and love. It also gives voice to the voiceless and power to the powerless, which is what the Church has a mission to do for every culture and community it encounters (Christus Vivit nos. 230-235). At a time of upheaval and division in our country, the U.S. bishops, young Catholics, and those who minister among them, are coming together to model dialogue, inclusion, listening to one another, and charting a path forward together.

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