The Pope's Benedict XVI appeal to the young people of Latin American

In a football stadium overflowing with the young people of Latin America Pope Benedict XVI launched an appeal for the future of the continent. To the thousands who cried out his name he said: do not waste your youth. Do not seek to escape from it. Live it intensely. Consecrate it to the high ideals of faith and human solidarity.

The long awaited encounter between the Holy Father and the young people was a celebration of light, life and song as Sao Paolo’s Pacaembu stadium was transformed into a place of prayer of hope and of faith. They had come from across the vast continent to hear his message to them, a message rooted in the teachings of the Gospel, which spoke of life, and reached out to today’s lost youth.

“Our forests have more life”: he began urging them to guard against the devastation of the environment in the Amazon Basin and the threats against the human dignity of peoples living within that region. When we see the beauty of creation and recognize the goodness present there, it is impossible not to believe in God.
Then citing Mathew 19 he said that the commandments are not imposed upon us from without; they do not diminish our freedom or limit our life, rather they are strong internal incentives leading us to God and eternal life.
The Pope continued that we cannot limit life to the “here” and “now”, however much we might try to broaden the horizons of time. Recalling his own youth told them Your “tomorrow” depends much on how you are living the “today” of your youth.

From these words of advise Pope Benedict went on to share his concern for the countless youth who have been lost, who succumb to fear and loose hope in life. We see the high death rate among young people, the threat of violence, the deplorable proliferation of drugs which strike at the deepest roots of youth today. Speaking to those gathered he said Be apostles invite them to walk with you; to encounter Jesus so that they may feel truly loved and come to God.

He called on them to be the builders of a new society, by putting their faith into practise. This he said begins with a solid spiritual formation and correct interpretation of Christian life without these he warned young people easily fall prey to all the assaults of materialism and secularism, which are more and more active at all levels.
Be men and women who are free and responsible; make the family a centre of peace and joy based on the sacrament of holy Matrimony. This, the holy father told them is God’s great gift to mankind, and must be based on mutual respect and chastity, both within and outside marriage. Be promoters of life, he continued from its beginning to its natural end; protect the elderly, since they deserve respect and admiration for the good they have done.

But above all the Pope warned against excessive ambition, against the corruption of power and wealth which he said too often leads to hatred and violence. But above all, he told them
set about building a more just and fraternal society, fulfilling their duties towards the State abiding by its laws, a society reconciled and at peace.

The Pope concluded You, young people, are not just the future of the Church and of humanity, as if we could somehow run away from the present. The Church needs you, as young people, to manifest to the world the face of Jesus Christ, visible in the Christian community.

The Popes’ message was greeted with a resounding applause and chants of “we see we and hear that our pope is here” . The words of the Pope still ringing in their ears, they erupted in celebration. They had come to Pacembu with questions, with testimonies of the difficulties they face as young Christians in an often hostile world, the Pope had listened to their words, delivered by 5 young representatives, while images of the favellas wracked with poverty and prisons packed with lost youth flickered across giant screens. He listened and then with the patience of a pastor and the intuition of a true teacher answered those questions, and urged them to remember that they are the vital lungs of the Latin American Church and its future.

Emer McCarthy, Vatican Radio