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

Peace be with you!

Good morning to everyone!

Dear young friends, welcome! 

I will speak in Italian and also in English. I am pleased to meet with you here in the Vatican, the house of Peter, in the company of the Secretary General of the Italian Episcopal Conference.  I know that you come from various countries, with different languages and cultures, but are all united by one great desire: the peaceful coexistence of peoples, especially those living in the area of the Mediterranean.  You are working whole-heartedly to realize this desire by your personal commitment and by a number of initiatives, both in your own local areas — your communities — and at the European level, involving dialogue with ecclesial and political institutions.  I am grateful for everything that you are doing.  You are proof that dialogue is possible, that differences are a source of enrichment and not a motive for conflict, and that others are always our brothers and sisters, never strangers or, worse, enemies.

The Mediterranean Youth Council is the fruit of a process of reflection and spirituality promoted by the Italian Episcopal Conference, as well as of two key events held in Bari in 2020 and in Florence in 2022.  Those events brought together the Bishops of several countries of the Mediterranean, in the recognition that the Mare Nostrum can and must be a place of encounter, a crossroads of fraternity, a cradle of life, and not a grave for the dead.  It is my hope that these experiences, supported by the Churches in Italy, may continue, as signs of hope.

Venerable Giorgio La Pira, the politician of happy memory whose thinking inspired the initiatives in Bari and Florence, was convinced that peace in the Mediterranean region could be the beginning and, as it were, the basis of peace among all the nations of the world.  That vision retains all its power and prophetic force today, in a world rent by conflict and violence, where an arms race and the will to power prevail over international law and the common good.  Yet we must not be discouraged; we must not give up!  You young people, with your high ideals and your creativity, can make a fundamental contribution.  Now, not tomorrow!  Because you are the “now” of our hope for the future!

Your Council is both a project and a sign.  The project is that which Pope Francis entrusted to the Churches of the Mediterranean: “to restore relationships that have been broken, to rebuild cities destroyed by violence, to make a garden flourish in what is now a desert, to instill hope in the hopeless, and to encourage those caught up in themselves not to fear their brothers or sisters” (Meeting with the Bishops of the Mediterranean, Bari, 23 February 2020).  The sign, dear friends, is you yourselves: the sign of a generation that does not uncritically accept what is happening, that does not look the other way or wait for someone else to take the first step.  You represent a generation that envisions a better future and chooses to build it.  You are the sign of a world that does not give in to indifference and complacency, but rolls up its sleeves and works to transform evil into good.

Peace is on the agenda of international leaders, it is the subject of global discussions, but sadly, it often gets reduced to a mere slogan.  What we need is to cultivate peace in our own hearts and in our relationships, to let it blossom in our daily actions, to work for reconciliation in our homes, our communities, our schools and workplaces, in the Church and among the Churches.  “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Mt 5:9).  To be a peacemaker is no easy matter: it forces us out of our comfort zones of distraction and indifference, and may well be resisted by those who have an interest in perpetuating conflicts.

Dear young people, continue to be signs of hope, the hope that does not disappoint, the hope that is rooted in the love of Christ.  To be signs of Christ means to be his witnesses, heralds of the Gospel, precisely around that Sea from whose shores the first disciples set out.  For believers, the future is not one of walls and barbed wire, but one of mutual acceptance.  In this way, the spiritual heritage of the great religious traditions born in the Mediterranean can continue to be a living ferment in this area and beyond, a source of peace, of openness to others, fraternity and of the care for creation.  Those very religions have been, and at times continue to be exploited in order to justify violence and armed conflict.  We need to reject these forms of blasphemy that dishonor God’s Holy Name, and to do so by the way we live our lives.  We are called to cultivate prayer and spirituality, together with action, as sources of peace and points of encounter between traditions and cultures.

Brothers and sisters, do not be afraid!  Sow seeds of peace wherever seeds of hatred and resentment are springing up.  Be patient builders of unity where polarization and enmity prevail.  Be the voice of those who have no voice in calling for justice and respect for human dignity.  Be light and salt where the flame of faith and the taste for life are waning.  Do not give up if you meet with those who do not understand you.  As Saint Charles de Foucauld used to say, God also uses headwinds to bring us to port.

I encourage you, then, to persevere in this experience of the Mediterranean Youth Council.  May God bless you and may Mary, Queen of Peace, always protect you.  Thank you.