Panama City, Panama, Jan 24, 2019 / 08:55 am
Upon arriving in Panama for World Youth Day 2019, Pope Francis met with politicians, diplomats and civil society leaders, extending a message of hope for "a more humane world."
"In these days, Panama … will turn into a hub of hope," Pope Francis told leaders gathered outside Panama City's Bolivar Palace Jan. 24.
"Young people demand a commitment in which all – beginning with those of us who call ourselves Christians – have the audacity to build an authentically human politics that makes the person the centre and heart of everything," he said.
In his first public appearance since his arrival in Panama, Pope Francis emphasized that "it is possible to defend the common good above the interests of a few or for few only when there is a firm decision to share with justice one's goods."