Capitolo Generale dei Salesiani di Don Bosco – “Educating the young people to the faith” in “General Chapter of the Salesian of Don Bosco”

The Acts of GC23 provide essential guidance for our life and apostolic activity. They include documents on youth faith education, amendments to Constitutions and Regulations, rule interpretations, provincial groupings, directives for Africa, a chronicle of events, and the Rector Major’s “Letter to Youth.” Highlights include addresses from the Holy Father and the Cardinal Prefect. This compilation stems from extensive community efforts and preparatory work since August 1988, informed by the Rector Major’s report and the Congregation’s statistics, offering a clear view of our current status and future directions.

Contents:

• Educating young people to the faith: a task and challenge for today’s salesian community
• Introduction 
• First part: the youth reality challenges the salesian community
• 1. The context in which salesian communities live
• 2. The youth situation
• 3. Youth and the faith
• 4. The more urgent challenges
• Second part: the faith journey
• 1.The community faced with the challenges 
• 2. The journey of education to the faith 
• Meeting God in the young
• The departure point
• The plan for Christian life
• Dimension of the journey
• The overall objective
• The dimensions
• – Towards human maturity
• – Towards an authentic meeting with Jesus Christ
• – Towards an intensified membership of the Church
• – Towards a commitment for the Kingdom
• 3. Salesian youth spirituality 
• Preliminary
• Synthetic presentation
• 1. Spirituality of daily life
• 2. Spirituality of joy and optimism
• 3. Spirituality of friendship with the Lord Jesus
• 4. Spirituality of communion in the Church
• 5. Spirituality of responsible service
• 4. Some key issues in education to the faith 
• Formation of conscience
• Education to love
• The social dimension of charity
• Third part: Practical commitments of the community
• Preliminary
• 1. Chapter deliberations 
  • 1.1 The journey of faith of the young demands the witness
    of a community in continual renewal.
  • 1.2 The journey of faith of the young demands that the
    salesian community be part of the local context and
    youth scene with a new pastoral approach.
  • 1.3 The journey of faith of the young demands that the
    salesian community become the animator of the
    educative and pastoral community and of the Salesian
    Family.
  • 1.4 The journey of faith of the young demands that the
    community develop an organic pastoral programme.
  • 1.5 The journey of faith of the young demands that thd
    salesian community give particular attention to
    their vocational guidance
  • 1.6 The journey of faith of the young demands from the
    community a new form of communication.
• 2. Practical guidelines for particular situations 
  • 2.1 Environments providing a wide welcome
  • 2.2 Environments of systematic education
  • 2.3 The youth group
  • 2.4 Personal encounter with the young person
  • 2.5 Communities for youngsters in difficulties
  • 2.6 Large scale gatherings of youth
• Conclusion
• Deliberations and guidelines concerning the constitutions and regulations 
• 1. Modifications or additions to the text of the Constitutions
• 2. Modifications to the General Regulations
• 3. Practical interpretation of certain texts
• 4. Deliberations concerning groups of Provinces
  5. Practical guideline for the salesian presence in Africa
• Appendices
• 1. Message of Pope John Paul II for the beginning of the GC23
• 2. Address of Card. Jean-Jerome Hamer
• 3. Opening address of the Rector Major to the GC23
• 4. Address of homage of the Rector Major to the Holy Father
• 5. Address of Pope John Paul II to the Capitulars, 1° May 1990
• 6. Message of greetings to the FMA members of their GC19
• 7. Message of the GC23 to Salesian Cooperators
• 8. Message of the GC23 to Don Bosco Past-Pupils
• 9. Closing address of the Rector Major to the GC23
• 10. Letter to the young
• 11. Chronicle of the GC23
• 12. List of participants in the GC23

Reference time period: 1990 – 2000

Reference institution:
Direzione Generale SDB