Pope Francis shared his dream of hope for young people around the world, including those who “do not frequent the Church”, in his speech to the participants of the international congress of youth ministry with a view to World Youth Day (WYD). which will be held in Seoul (South Korea) in 2027.
“Thinking about the Youth Jubilee – next year – and the WYD in Seoul in three years, my ‘dream’ is that they can help so many young people find Jesus, also among those who normally do not attend the Church, by bringing them a message of hope,” said the Holy Father in his speech to the participants of the congress held in Rome from May 23 to 25.
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Pope Francis received those attending the event, promoted by the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, which reflected on the theme “For a synodal youth ministry: new styles and strategies of leadership (leadership)”.
In his speech, the Holy Father also recalled the hope and joy that WYD Lisbon 2023 meant, for young people and for many in the Church; two elements that can be offered “to those boys and girls who have ‘lowered their gaze’, who have lost the horizon, who have put aside their great dreams and have remained in sadness and bad living.”
Pope Francis also highlighted the importance of Christian joy as the nourishment of all the faithful; and commented that in the face of the “publicity of wars” it is “important to offer young people opportunities to experience the living Christ in prayer, in the Eucharistic celebration and reconciliation, in community meetings, in service to the poor, in testimony of the saints.”
The Pontiff also referred to the need for “spiritual discernment” which, first of all, is an “art” to be learned by those who guide young people. “For young people, finding a person capable of discernment is finding a treasure,” he added.
“On the path of faith, in the discovery of one’s vocation, a wise guide helps to avoid so many errors, so many naiveties, so many moments of loss and ‘paralysis’. A guide that does not oppose freedom but accompanies it.”
Pope Francis also highlighted that discernment is also “synodal” because it goes beyond one’s own self, which today is often reduced to the duality of “I like – I don’t like”; and makes people “travel a path together.”
The Holy Father also indicated that “discernment is personal,” each young person must be accompanied individually since “each one is unique and unrepeatable.”
The Pontiff stressed that, finally, “discernment is oriented toward the truth,” since in the face of so many lies and fake news“discernment wants to be a path of authenticity for young people: leaving artificial identities to discover one’s own real identity.”
Walter Sánchez Silva
I have been a husband since 2008. My wife and I have three children here and one who went to heaven in 2023, before he was born. Since I joined ACI Prensa in 2005, I have had the opportunity to cover various events of the Catholic Church. Among them, the World Youth Days in Cologne, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro and the apostolic trips of Pope Benedict XVI to Mexico and of Pope Francis to South Korea. I have been sent to the Vatican to cover the Family synods, in 2015; of the Amazon, in 2019 and that of Synodality, in 2023. I closely follow the situation of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, which suffers persecution from the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega, as well as current ecclesiastical events in the region.