“I urge you to dare to build a different world, a world of listening, dialogue, and openness, to ‘point to ideals other than those of this world, testifying to the beauty of generosity, service, purity, perseverance, forgiveness, fidelity to our personal vocation, prayer, the pursuit of justice and the common good, love for the poor, and social friendship,’” Parolin said, citing Pope Francis’ 2019 apostolic exhortation Christus Vivit.
Parolin said: “One of the challenges you must face is that of walking together in order to work for the qualitative transformation of life in our societies.” He said that to walk together means “barring the way to marginalization, isolation, exclusion, and the rejection of a category of people.”
He exhorted the young people to commit themselves to live like Jesus, who didn’t exclude anyone.
Parolin noted that sometimes people can feel “homeless.”
“When we face these challenges together, there can be experiences of beauty, of transcendence, which help us to discover the spark that makes us start again with new vitality,” he said.
“Dear young people, the Holy Father is counting on you and he trusts you, the Church trusts you. Through your words and actions, send a powerful message to our world, which rejects the vulnerable,” he said.
He called on the young people to live in the present and to not “sacrifice your precious youth on the altar of superficial pleasures.”
“Don’t let yourselves be robbed of your dreams, and help to ‘build a society worthy of the name,’” he said, citing Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis’ 2020 encyclical.
“Entrusting each of you and your families to the Lord, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Pope Francis grants you his apostolic blessing with all his heart. He asks you to pray for him,” he concluded.
Joseph Bukuras is a journalist at the Catholic News Agency. Joe has prior experience working in state and federal government, in non-profits, and Catholic education. He has contributed to an array of publications and his reporting has been cited by leading news sources, including the New York Times and the Washington Post. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the Catholic University of America. He is based out of the Boston area.