With the Argentinian youth

Yesterday afternoon, prior to attending the official welcoming ceremony held on Copacabana beach, the Holy Father met with youth from all over Argentina, who had gathered in the Cathedral of Saint Sebastian of Rio de Janeiro.

Address of the Holy Father, Pope Francis

for the meeting with Argentinian youth

Thank you … thank you for being here, thank you for having come … Thank you to all of you who are inside and many thanks to all of you who are gathered outside - to the thirty thousand who I am told are outside.  I greet you from here.  You are standing in the rain … thank you for this gesture of support, thank you for having come to World Youth Day.  I had suggested to Doctor Gasbarri, who is the person in charge, who organized the trip, that he might find a place where I could meet with you, and by mid-day he had put everything in place.  I also want to thank Doctor Gasbarri publicly for all that he has managed to accomplish today.

I want to tell you what my hopes are for World Youth Day: I hope that there is noise.  Here, there will be noise.  Here in Rio, there will be noise.  But I want this noise to be heard in your dioceses, I want it to go out, I want the Church to be seen and known in the streets, I want us to free ourselves from all that is worldly, from all that is immovable, from worldly comforts, from clericalism, from all the things that close us in on ourselves.  Parishes, schools, institutions are made to be used outside … if not, it all becomes a part of an NGO and the Church cannot be an NGO.  I apologize to the bishops and priests if any of you are confused by this.  And thanks to the council.  Thank you for all that you have done.

Look, I think that, in this time, modern society has gone overboard, it has gone overboard because we have created a culture that worships money, we are being influenced by a philosophy and a practice of exclusion of the two poles of life which provide promise for people.  Exclusion of the elderly, obviously.  One might think that there is some kind of hidden euthanasia, because it doesn’t take care of the elderly; but there is also a cultural euthanasia, because we don’t allow them to talk, we don’t allow them to act.  And the exclusion of the youth.  The percentage of youth who have no work, who have no job, is very high and we have a generation which hasn`t experienced the dignity that can be earned through work.  This civilization, has led us to exclude the two vertices which are our future.  So the youth must come out, emerge, they must be valued; our youth must come out and fight for their values, fight for these values; and the elderly have to open their mouths, the elderly must open their mouths and teach us!  Transmit wisdom to future generations!

To the Argentine people, I ask; with all my heart, I ask the elderly: don`t settle for anything less than being the cultural reserve of our people, preserve and transmit justice, transmit our history, transmit our values, transmit the memory of our people.  And you, please don’t interfere with the elderly: let them speak, listen to them and move on.  But believe me, believe that in this moment, you, young people and the elderly, you are condemned to the same destiny: exclusion.  Don’t allow yourselves to be excluded.  It’s clear!  I believe that you have to work for this.  Faith in Jesus Christ is not a joke, it’s very serious.  It’s scandalous that God came to make himself one of us.  It’s scandalous that he died on a cross.  It’s a scandal: the scandal of the Cross.  The Cross continues to create scandal.  But it is the only sure way: the way of the Cross, the way of Jesus, the way of the Incarnation of Jesus.  Please, don’t make a smoothie out of faith in Jesus Christ.  We can make smoothies from oranges, or apples, or bananas, but please don’t try to make a faith smoothie.  Faith is complete, you can’t blend it.  It is faith in Jesus.  It is faith in the Son of God made man, who has loved me and has died for me.  So: let it be known; take care of the extremes of our population – the elderly and the youth; don’t let them be excluded and don’t leave the elderly out. 

Secondly: don’t blend up your faith in Jesus Christ.  The Beatitudes.  What do we need to do, Father?  Look: read the Beatitudes and do them well.  If you want to know what you need to do concretely, read Matthew, chapter 25, which is the criteria by which we will be judged.  With these two things, make a plan of action: the Beatitudes and Matthew 25.  You don’t need to read anything else.  Please, I ask you with all my heart.

Very good; thank you for this gathering.  I’m sorry that you’re so confined, but I want to tell you one thing.  I sometimes feel that it’s horrible to be confined.  I confess with all my heart, but look … I know, I understand.  I would have loved to be closer to you, but I understand that for reasons of security, this is not possible.  Thank you for being here, thank you for your prayers for me; please continue to pray for me, I need your prayers.  Thank you very much.  OK, I will give you my blessing and after, we will bless the image of the Virgin who watches over the whole Republic … and the cross of Saint Francis, that will be travelling in a spirit of mission.  But don’t forget: make them listen to you, take care of the two extremes of life, the two extremes of our people’s history, the elderly and the youth; and don’t blend up the faith.  Now, let us pray, let’s bless the image of the Virgin and then I’ll give you my blessing.

Let’s stand up for the blessing, but first, I want to thank Monsignor Arancedo for what he said.  I was rude not to have thanked him before.  So, thank you for your greeting.  Let us pray:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary ...

Lord, You left your mother among us so that she can accompany us.

To take care of us and to protect us on our journey, in our hearts and in our faith.

That we might be disciples like She was, and missionaries like She was.

That she might teach us how to take our faith into the streets.

That she might teach us how to go outside of ourselves.

Bless this image Lord, that will travel throughout our country.

Lead us in your gentleness, in your peace, and show us the way.

Lord, you are a scandal.  You are a scandal: the scandal of the Cross.

A cross which is humility and meakness.

A cross that speaks to us of the closeness of God.

Bless this image of the cross that will travel throughout our country.

Many thanks to all of you.  We will see each other in these days.  May God bless you.  Pray for me.  Do not forget.