(December 30, 2011) The next traditional yearend international gathering of young
people of the ecumenical Taize Community will take place Rome in 2012. This was announced
by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone in a message he sent to the
community on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI. The message was read on Thursday at Taize’s
Community’s traditional yearend gathering in Berlin, Germany, which began on Wednesday
and will end on New Year’s Day. Some 30,000 are said to be attending the meet.
“The Holy Father expresses his joy at being able to welcome you next year for the
35th European meeting of ‘your pilgrimage of trust on earth’,” wrote Cardinal Bertone.
He said Rome would offer them a warm welcome. “While young people from Europe and
other continents assembled in Berlin are seeking to discover the source of trust,
the Pope expresses his closeness with you in prayers and encourages you to open the
roads to trust everywhere,” the message read. “You know that trust is no blind ingenuity.”
“By freeing yourselves from the slavery of fear, this trust, drawn from the your faith
in Christ and the life of His Holy Spirit will make you more keen and ready to respond
to the numerous challenges and difficulties that today’s men and women must face,”
the Pope said in the message.