Pontiff addresses the youth of Malta

(April 19, 2010) Pope Benedict XVI met the youth of Malta on Sunday and assured them that God and the Church reject no one, and that they should be generous to the Lord’s call in serving his people as priests or religious. The Pope met some 10,000 young people at the waterfront of Valetta port on Sunday evening, before he flew back to Rome. The engagement was part of the Pope’s 26-hour pastoral visit on Saturday and Sunday to the largely Catholic island nation in the Mediterranean. The Pope was in Malta to mark the 1950^th anniversary of the shipwreck of St. Paul off the island. The Holy Father noted that St. Paul who was at one time an enemy of the Church, had an experience that changed him forever. The Pope explained that when the Lord “challenges us because something in our lives is displeasing to him, he is not rejecting us, but he is asking us to change and become more perfect.” “That is what he asked of Saint Paul on the road to Damascus. God rejects no one. And the Church rejects no one.”
Pope Benedict also encouraged the young people to be open and generous to the Lord’s call in the priesthood or consecrated life to serve his people. He also encouraged the youth to "seek out the poor, the vulnerable, the marginalized.” He urged special care for those who are in distress, suffering from depression or anxiety and the disabled, and called for the promotion of their dignity and quality of life. He also called for attention to the needs of immigrants and asylum seekers, and extend the hand of friendship to members of all faiths.
The meeting with the youth was the concluding event of the Pope’s Malta visit. In a farewell address at Malta’s Luqa International airport, Pope Benedict encouraged the Maltese people to cultivate a deep awareness of their Catholic identity and embrace the responsibilities that flow from it. He told them especially to promote the Gospel values that will grant them a clear vision of human dignity and the common origin and destiny of mankind. He told them to "Be worthy sons and daughters of St. Paul!"