Papst Benedikt XVI. erwartet sich vom Weltjugendtag missionarische Impulse für die
katholische Kirche und vor allem für die jungen Gläubigen. Angesichts von düsteren
Zukunftsperspektiven und Hoffnungslosigkeit biete der christliche Glaube Kraft und
Orientierung, betonte er in einer Botschaft, die bei seiner Ankunft in Australien
am Sonntag veröffentlicht wurde. Die Jugendlichen seien herausgefordert durch die
Ablehnung des Glaubens, die sie in ihrem Umfeld erfahren. Die Antwort liege in Christus.
Der Heilige Geist orientiere die Menschen zu ihm hin, der Leben, Liebe und Wahrheit
ist. Benedikt zitiert einen dem Heiligen Augustinus zugeschriebenen Denkspruch: „Wenn
Du jung bleiben willst, dann suche Christus“. Mit Blick auf das Motto des Treffens
„Ihr werdet die Kraft des Heiligen Geistes empfangen, der auf euch herabkommen wird;
und ihr werdet meine Zeugen sein“ betont Benedikt, dass die Jugendlichen eine besondere
Aufgabe bei der Erneuerung des Angesichts der Erde (Ps 104) hätten. Der Papst wörtlich:
„Es ist meine feste Überzeugung, dass die Jugendlichen dazu berufen sind, Instrumente
der Erneuerung zu werden, indem sie ihren Altersgenossen jene Freude weitergeben,
die sie im Kennenlernen und in der Nachfolge Christi erfahren haben. Im Teilen der
Liebe, die der Geist in ihre Herzen ausgegossen hat, werden sie erfüllt von Hoffnung
und Dankbarkeit für all das Gute, dass sie von Gott, unserm himmlischen Vater erhalten
haben.“ Benedikt XVI. dankt außerdem den australischen Behörden und der Kirchenleitung
für die Vorbereitung seiner Reise und des Weltjugendtages. Weiter bedankte er sich
bei den Pfarreien, den Schulen und den vielen Familien, die während dieser Tag die
angereisten Gäste aus aller Welt beherbergten.
(rv 13.07.2008 mc)
Hier
der englische Originaltext: To the beloved people of Australia and
to the young pilgrims taking part in World Youth Day 2008“You
will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you: and you will be my witnesses”
(Act 1:8)
The grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ be with all of you! In a few days from now, I shall begin my Apostolic Visit
to your country, in order to celebrate the Twenty-Third World Youth Day in Sydney.
I very much look forward to the days that I shall spend with you, and especially to
the opportunities for prayer and reflection with young people from all over the world.
First
of all, I want to express my appreciation to all those who have offered so much of
their time, their resources and their prayers in support of this celebration. The
Australian Government and the Provincial Government of New South Wales, the organizers
of all the events, and members of the business community who have provided sponsorship
– all of you have willingly supported this event, and on behalf of the young people
taking part in the World Youth Day, I thank you most sincerely. Many of the young
people have made great sacrifices in order to undertake the journey to Australia,
and I pray that they will be rewarded abundantly. The parishes, schools and host families
have been most generous in welcoming these young visitors, and they too deserve our
thanks and our appreciation.
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit
has come upon you: and you will be my witnesses” (Act 1:8). This is the theme
of the Twenty-Third World Youth Day. How much our world needs a renewed outpouring
of the Holy Spirit! There are still many who have not heard the Good News of Jesus
Christ, while many others, for whatever reason, have not recognized in this Good News
the saving truth that alone can satisfy the deepest longings of their hearts. The
Psalmist prays: “when you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew
the face of the earth” (Ps 104:30). It is my firm belief that young people
are called to be instruments of that renewal, communicating to their peers the joy
they have experienced through knowing and following Christ, and sharing with others
the love that the Spirit pours into their hearts, so that they too will be filled
with hope and with thanksgiving for all the good things they have received from our
heavenly Father.
Many young people today lack hope. They are perplexed by
the questions that present themselves ever more urgently in a confusing world, and
they are often uncertain which way to turn for answers. They see poverty and injustice
and they long to find solutions. They are challenged by the arguments of those who
deny the existence of God and they wonder how to respond. They see great damage done
to the natural environment through human greed and they struggle to find ways to live
in greater harmony with nature and with one another.
Where can we look for
answers? The Spirit points us towards the way that leads to life, to love and to truth.
The Spirit points us towards Jesus Christ. There is a saying attributed to Saint Augustine:
“If you wish to remain young, seek Christ”. In him we find the answers that we are
seeking, we find the goals that are truly worth living for, we find the strength to
pursue the path that will bring about a better world. Our hearts find no rest until
they rest in the Lord, as Saint Augustine says at the beginning of the Confessions,
the famous account of his own youth. My prayer is that the hearts of the young people
who gather in Sydney for the celebration of World Youth Day will truly find rest
in the Lord, and that they will be filled with joy and fervour for spreading the Good
News among their friends, their families, and all whom they meet.
Dear Australian
friends, although I will only be able to spend a few days in your country, and I will
not be able to travel outside Sydney, my heart reaches out to all of you, including
those who are sick or in difficulties of any kind. On behalf of all the young people,
I thank you again for your support of my mission and I ask you to continue praying
for them especially. It remains only for me to renew my invitation to the young people
from all over the world to join me in Australia, the great “southern land of the Holy
Spirit”. I look forward to seeing you there! May God bless you all.