Aug 29, 2013: Pope Francis on Wednesday afternoon met with a group of about 500 young
people from the Diocese of Piacenza-Bobbio in St. Peter’s Basilica. The youth are
on a pilgrimage which is part of their diocesan celebration of the Year of Faith.
The
Pope began his greetings by explaining why he agreed to the meeting. “I did it for
selfish reasons, do you know why? Why I like being with you? … Why I like being with
young people?” the Pope asked. “ Because you have in your heart a promise of hope.
You are bearers of hope. You, in fact, live in the present, but are looking at the
future. You are the protagonists of the future, artisans of the future.”
Explaining
what he meant, Pope Francis said young people have “three desires”: Beauty, Goodness,
and Truth. “And these three desires that you have in your heart, you have to carry
them forward, to the future,” he said. “Make the future with beauty, with goodness
and truth. Do you understand? This is the challenge: your challenge…you can do it:
you have the power to do so. If you do not, it is because of laziness. … I wanted
to tell you: Have courage. Go forward. Make noise.” He said making noise means going
“against this civilization that is doing so much harm. Got that? Go against the tide,
and that means making noise. Go ahead. But with the values of beauty, goodness and
truth.”
The bishop of the Diocese of Piacenza-Bobbio, Gianni Ambrosio, told
Vatican Radio what he hoped the youth would get out of the meeting. “I told the young
people that this experience must first light our path: knowing that our path is lit
and there are many people who have gone before us, who gave us the light of faith,”
Bishop Ambrosio said. “Not only that, but also we are accompanied by the presence
of the Risen Christ who is in our midst, and the Church continues the mission of Jesus,
which is to give the children of God the possibility of a way that leads to the goal,
to salvation.”