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Chiangmai Statements of Catholic Youth Commitment on the Future and the SDGs

January 2025

We, the Catholic youth who participated in the Chiangmai Catholic Civic Forum (January 16-18) and the Catholic Youth Leadership Academy (CAYLA) held at the IYTC from January 21-31, 2025 and convened by International Movement of Catholic Students (IMCS) and the International Youth Training Center (IYTC) / Pax Romana Laudato Si’ Center – Chiangmai,

  1. Deeply concerned about the ongoing and emerging global threats to peace in Ukraine and Russia and Gaza and the Middle East and Myanmar,
  2. Deeply concerned about the shrinking civic space in many parts of the world, including Asia, and the challenges to justice, human rights and the care of creation on earth,
  3. Acknowledging the discussion and outcome of the Chiangmai Global Governance (CGG) Forum held at IYTC on January 13-16, 2025, prior to the Chiangmai Catholic Civic (CCC) Forum, in particular the Chiangmai Youth Statement on the Future and SDGs,
  4. Reaffirming the outcome documents of the 2024 Catholic Peace Forum, namely, Nagasaki Appeal for Peace (August 10), Rome Appeal for Peace (September 19), and Geneva Appeal for Peace (October 30),
  5. Recalling the commitment of Catholic students and youth in Rome Youth Commitment for Social Change as part of the Rome Appeal for Peace on September 19, 2024.
  6. Inspired by the messages of Pope Francis for the centennial of IMCS Pax Romana in 2022 and 2024, in which he asks students to be “agents of social change” and “global citizenship”, as well as “protagonists of the revolution of charity and service” (Christus Vivit 174),
  7. Welcoming the final document “For a Synodal Church – Communion, Participation and Mission” of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on October 26, 2024, 8. Welcoming the Bangkok Document of the 50th General Assembly of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) in October 2022 and the outcome of the Continental Synodal Assembly in Asia (24-26 February 2023).
  8. Recalling the Post-Synodal Appostolic Exhortation “Christus Vivit” of the Holy Father Francis to young people and to the whole People of God on March 15, 2019, 
  9. Recalling the spirit of the Covenant of the Catacombs, signed by 42 bishops at the end of the Second Vatican Council on November 16, 1965, committing themselves to a life of simplicity and voluntary poverty,
  10. Concerned about the lack of concrete follow-up to the twin synods on youth (2019) and synodality (2024) in local and regional churches in Asia, 
  11. Reaffirming the importance of the actions “Laudato Si’ Goals (LSGs)” called for in Laudato Si (“Praise the Lord”) on care for our common home, May 24, 2015, and Fratelli Tutti (“All Brothers and Sisters”) on fraternal love and social friendship, October 3, 2020,
  12. Concerned about the lack of awareness and appreciation of such Catholic social teachings by the Church leaders and lay people in local and regional churches in Asia, 
  13. Recognizing the urgent need to form more committed lay leaders to implement Catholic social teaching in their professional lives and in civil society,
  14. Anticipating of the Pilgrimage of Hope in the Jubilee Year 2025, especially the Jubilee of Ecclesial Movements, Associations and New Communities, June 7-8, and the Jubilee of Youth, July 28-August 3, 2025, in Rome,
  15. Welcoming the organization of the World Youth Day in Seoul in 2027 under the theme “Take Courage! I have overcome the world (Jn. 16:33), which will be the second in Asia after Manila in 1995 and the first in a country with a Catholic minority,
  16. Welcoming Pope Francis’ message and three proposals for the World Day of Peace on January 1, 2025, calling for debt cancellation, abolition of the death penalty, and redirection of military spending,
  17. Welcoming the Pact for the Future and the Declaration on Future Generations of the UN Summit of the Future (SOTF) in 2024,
  18. Recalling the online and offline public awareness campaign of the participants of the Catholic Peace Forum (PCF) in St. Peter’s Square in Rome on the Day of Action of the UN SOTF on September 20-21, 2024, 
  19. Recognizing the importance of UN conferences in 2025, namely 4th UN International Conference on Financing for Development (Spain, 30 June to 3 July 2025) and the Second UN World Summit for Social Development (Doha, Qatar, 4-6 November 2025) as timely opportunities for youth engagement to implement the Pact for the Future.

Commitment for Peace, Justice and Care of Creation

1) We commit ourselves to live the spirituality of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10) in our daily lives according to the Catholic Social Teachings,

2) We commit ourselves to study and implement the Catholic Social Teachings, especially Laudato Si and Fratelli Tutti, for peace, justice and the care of creation,

3) We commit to promoting responsible global citizenship through the study and implementation of global norms such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) particularly Target 4.7 and SDG 16 (Justice, Peace and Strong Institutions),

4) We commit ourselves to engage in public campaigning online and offline, using the observances and anniversaries in the UN and civil society and the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church for peace, justice and care of creation, such as Laudato Si’ Week (May), Season of Creation (Sept. 1-Oct. 4), Catholic Nonviolence Days of Action (Sept. 21-Oct. 2), etc.

5) We commit ourselves to engage in online and offline public advocacy with national and international political leaders for peace, justice and care of creation in international bodies such as the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in New York, the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), etc.

6) We commit ourselves to implement the 3 proposals on the cancellation of debt, the abolition of the death penalty, and the redirection of military spending made by Pope Francis in his message for the World Day of Peace on January 1, 2025,

7) We commit ourselves to live the 2025 Jubilee Campaign through a long-term campaign for peace, justice and care of creation leading up to the 2027 World Youth Day in Seoul,is, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Call for Action

Catholic Church

  1. We call on leaders of local Churches and FABC’s relevant offices, to conduct systematic mapping and research about the reality of youth lives and pastoral programs in order to develop and implement concrete action plans to implement the final document of the Synod on Synodality (2024) and the Synod on Youth (2019) at the parish, diocesan, national and international levels.
  2. We call on Church leaders to develop and implement concrete action plans including training and formation program to support youth-led initiatives and to form more committed lay leaders to implement Catholic social teaching, especially Laudato Si (2015) and Fratelli Tutti (2020).
  3. We call on Church leaders to recognize the special role of Catholic students in universities and colleges, and to make long-term investments to form public leaders in society and government.
  4. We call on both the Vatican Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development to work together to promote Catholic social teaching among young people, especially in the World Youth Day (WYD) process and events in partnership with the Catholic youth organizations nationally and internationally.
  5. We invite the FABC to consider the creation of a Youth Office, enhancing the existing Youth Desk, to facilitate and coordinate more effectively Catholic youth movements, pastoral and service programs, in order to implement Christus Vivit (2019) and the outcome of the Synod on Synodality (2024) in accordance with Laudato Si and Fratelli Tutti.

Civil Society and United Nations (UN)

  1. We urge civil society around the world to join the campaign to implement the 3 proposals made by Pope Francis in his message for the World Day of Peace on January 1, 2025, calling for the cancellation of debt, the abolition of the death penalty, and the redirection of military spending.
  2. We urge the UN, at the two UN meetings on Financing for Development (Seville, June 30 to July 3) and Social Development (Doha, November 4-6), to come up with a tangible and concrete action plan with a blueprint for implementing the Declaration on Future Generations at the national and international levels as well as the Pope Francis’ call for the debt cancellation and the redirection of military spending.
  3. We urge the Holy See in cooperation with the UN and UNESCO to convene a meeting of youth of all religions and faiths as global citizens to work together for common goods, especially the climate crisis, economic equality, and all forms of discrimination and xenophobia during the World Youth Day (WYD) in Seoul, 2027.

 

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