FROM OUR REPORTER
LISBON — The first thing that strikes you are the flags, the prospect of Edward VII park is an epitome of the colors of the world, from the United States to China. Five hundred thousand young people from two hundred countries arrived for the welcoming ceremony with the Pope, “I am happy to see you and also to hear the pleasant noise you make!”, the beginning of World Youth Day which will end with the vigil on Saturday night and the great final mass on Sunday.
In the morning, Francis told the young people to “not be afraid of feeling uneasy” in Pessoa’s words, “to be dissatisfied is to be men”, he spoke of the “dramatic urgency of taking care of our common home”. , the climate and environmental crisis, to the point of saying to them: “You are the generation that can win this challenge”. And now he goes further, “don’t be afraid, go ahead!”, he invites them to have self-confidence: “Friends, you are not here by chance. The Lord has called you, not only in these days, but from the beginning of your days. None of us are Christians by chance, He has called you by name, because you are loved».
Francis speaks with “you”, as if addressing everyone: “If God calls you by name, it means that for him you are not a number, but a face, a heart”. Before leaving, he had recorded a series of responses to the boys for the Vatican media, among them there was a transgender man, two prisoners, girls and boys who for various reasons had felt excluded, not only from the Church: “God loves us as we are, do not give up.’ So now he articulates: «In the Church there is room for everyone and when there is not, please, let us make sure that there is, even for those who make mistakes, for those who fall, for those who struggle. Because the Church is and must increasingly be that house where the echo of the call by name that God addresses to each one resounds. The Lord does not point his finger, but spreads his arms: Jesus shows us on the cross. He does not close the door, but invites you to enter; he does not keep his distance, but welcomes everyone as we are.’
Bergoglio looks up: “Everyone in his own language, repeat it with me: everyone, everyone, everyone!”. And he continues: Â «I would like you to point out one thing: many, today, know your name, but do not call you by name. In fact, your name is known, it appears on social networks, it is processed by algorithms that associate tastes and preferences with it. However, all this does not question your uniqueness, but your usefulness for market research». We must be careful of the “illusions of the virtual”, he says: “How many wolves hide behind smiles of false goodness, saying they know who you are but not loving you, insinuating that they believe in you and promising you that you will become someone, only to leave you alone when you no longer care. We must be careful not to let ourselves be deceived, because so many realities that attract us and promise happiness then show themselves for what they are: vain, superfluous things, substitutes that leave an empty space inside. Jesus no: He trusts you, you count for Him».
Already this morning, addressing the students of the Catholic university, he had spoken of the “dramatic urgency of taking care of our common home”, the climate and environmental crisis, urging young people to “take charge of what unfortunately continues to be postponed: that is, the need to redefine what we call progress and evolution, because “in the name of progress too much regression has made its way”. Francesco spelled out: “You are the generation that can win this challenge: you have the most advanced scientific and technological tools”. With an important comment: «Please, do not fall into the trap of partial visions. Do not forget that we need an integral ecology, we need to listen to the suffering of the planet together with that of the poor, to place the drama of desertification in parallel with that of refugees, the theme of migrations together with the falling birth rate, we need to deal with of the material dimension of life within a spiritual dimension. Do not create polarizations, but visions of the whole».
An invitation not to be afraid, to feel restless: “Pessoa said, in a tormented but correct way, that ‘to be dissatisfied is to be men'”. To the students of Scholas Occurrentes, in Cascais, he quoted Carl Gustav Jung: «There was someone who said that the path of man, human life, is to make a kosmos out of kaos: from what makes no sense, what it’s messy, creating a cosmos.’ Before leaving the nunciature at the beginning of the day, he received about fifteen young Ukrainians, listened to their stories and expressed his “painful and prayerful” closeness to the “tormented Ukraine”. Father Roman Demush, of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, said: «Francis Pope listened and several times we started crying, several times we stopped because it was impossible to continue. The story of who had to flee, who had to bury their family members, who is terrified. We cried, we prayed. The Pope apologized to the young people, saying that he can’t do anything more”.