In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you!

Dear brothers and sisters,

I am delighted to meet with you, young people from every part of the world, united by a shared commitment to the pursuit of the common good through political engagement. You come from different nations, cultures and religious traditions. Yet this diversity is not a cause of division among you. Rather, it is an opportunity for collaboration and growth in a synodal style. Your way of proceeding — listening attentively and discerning together — is not incidental to the questions you address; rather, it serves as the essential lens through which you observe the world. As a form of communion, synodality teaches us to attend to the perspectives of others, instead of relying solely on our own. It challenges us to cultivate comprehensive outlooks that respect complexity without becoming confused, and to seek the truth without fear of confrontation.

In this regard, I wish to express my gratitude for the many initiatives in which you are engaged, especially the “Four Dreams” project promoted by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and inspired by Pope Francis. In the Apostolic Exhortation Querida Amazonia he invited us to dream together ecclesial, ecological, social and cultural renewal. It is urgent that we devote our best efforts to these dreams, particularly in times so marred by injustice, violence and war! Today, your role as leaders carries with it a particular responsibility for the work of peacebuilding. This responsibility extends not only to relations between nations, but also to the concrete places of daily life: where you live, where you study, and where you work. If we are unable to foster harmony within a university or a workplace, or among political parties and civic associations, how can we hope to build peace within an entire society, or between peoples and continents? With pure hearts and clear minds, seek peace always — as a gift, a covenant and a promise.

Peace, indeed, is above all a gift. We receive it from those who came before us, and for this we must be grateful. Peace is also a covenant, which binds us to one another and commits us to safeguard it where it exists and to pursue it where it is absent. Finally, peace is a promise, because it opens before us the hope of a better world, a hope shared by all people of good will. Politics plays an indispensable role in this task. For this reason, I encourage you to work together in studying forms of participation that allow all citizens — men and women alike — to take part in the institutional life of their nations. Upon this foundation, it becomes possible to build that universal fraternity which is already taking shape among you young people, a sign of a new era. Your commitment, in fact, reaches its highest fulfillment when it serves a humanity that seeks and attains peace through justice.

With this in mind, I invite you to reflect on the fact that there can be no peace while humanity wages war against itself — by discarding the weak, excluding the poor, and remaining indifferent to refugees and the oppressed. Only those who care for the least among us are capable of accomplishing what is truly great. In this context, Mother Teresa of Calcutta — the saint of the “poorest of the poor” and Nobel Peace Prize laureate — remarked that “the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion” (cf. Address at the National Prayer Breakfast, 3 February 1994). Her words remain prophetic. No policy can genuinely serve the people if it denies the unborn the gift of life, or if it neglects to support those in need, whether in their material circumstances or in their spiritual distress.

Amid the many challenges of our time, take courage! Remember that you are not alone in seeking universal fraternity. The one God has entrusted the earth to us as a common home for all peoples; therefore, the title of your conference, “One Humanity, One Planet,” finds its fullest expression when completed by the words “One God.” Recognizing in him our loving and benevolent Creator, our religious traditions call us to contribute to social progress by always seeking the common good, which rests upon the firm foundations of peace and justice. With this conviction in my heart, I impart my Apostolic Blessing to all of you young people, to those who accompany you, and to your loved ones. Thank you!