“Continue to be signs of hope!”

On Friday, September 5, Pope Leo XIV delivered a speech on peacebuilding at the meeting of the Mediterranean Youth Council, based in Florence. 

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

Peace be with you!

Hello everyone, bonjour (in French), buongiorno

Dear young people, welcome! I will speak a little Italian and a little English.

I am pleased to welcome you here in the Vatican, in the house of Peter, accompanied by the Secretary General of the Italian Bishops' Conference. I know that you come from different countries, that you have different languages and cultures, but you are united by a single great desire: the peaceful coexistence of peoples, especially those who live around the Mediterranean. You give body and soul to this desire, with your commitment and with numerous projects, both on the ground – in your communities – and at the European level, in dialogue with ecclesial and political institutions. I thank you for what you do: you demonstrate that dialogue is possible, that differences are a source of enrichment and not a reason for opposition, that the other is always a brother and never a stranger or, worse, an enemy.

The Mediterranean Youth Council is one of the fruits of the journey of reflection and spirituality promoted by the Italian Bishops' Conference, which saw two key moments in Bari in 2020 and Florence in 2022. These meetings brought together the bishops of some countries in the Mediterranean region, aware that the mare nostrum can and must be a meeting place, a crossroads of fraternity, a cradle of life and not a tomb for the dead. I hope that these experiences, promoted by the Churches in Italy, may continue as signs of hope.

Giorgio La Pira, the mayor of happy memory whose thinking inspired the initiatives of Bari and Florence, was convinced that peace in the Mediterranean region would be the starting point and almost the foundation of peace among all the nations of the world. This vision retains all its force and prophetic charge today, in an age torn apart by conflict and violence, where the arms race and the logic of oppression prevail over international law and the common good. But we must not be discouraged, we must not resign ourselves! And you, young people, with your dreams and your creativity, can make a fundamental contribution. Now, and not tomorrow! Because you are the present of hope!

Your Council is truly a symbolic work. This work is what Pope Francis entrusted to the Churches of the Mediterranean: “to rebuild the bonds that have been severed, to raise up the cities destroyed by violence, to make a garden bloom where there are now parched lands, to inspire hope in those who have lost it, and to exhort those who are closed in on themselves not to fear their brothers and sisters” (Meeting with the Bishops of the Mediterranean, Bari, 23 February 2020). The sign, dear friends, is you: the sign of a generation that does not accept uncritically what is happening, that does not look away, that does not wait for someone else to take the first step; the sign of a youth that imagines a better future and has chosen to build it; the sign of a world that does not give in to indifference and habit, but is committed and works to transform evil into good.

Peace is on the table of national leaders, it is the subject of global discussions, and it is unfortunately often reduced to a slogan. Instead, we must cultivate peace in our hearts and in our relationships, make it blossom in our daily actions, and be drivers of reconciliation in our homes, in our communities, in our places of study and work, in the Church and among Churches. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Mt 5:9). This is not an easy choice: it takes us out of our comfort zone of distraction and indifference, and can arouse opposition from those who have an interest in the continuation of conflicts.

Dear young people, continue to be signs of hope, the kind that does not disappoint, rooted in the love of Christ. Being signs of Christ means being his witnesses, heralds of the Gospel, precisely around this sea from which the first disciples set out. The horizon of the believer is not that of walls and barbed wire, but that of mutual acceptance. In this way, the spiritual heritage of the great religious traditions born in the Mediterranean can continue to be a living leaven in this region and beyond, a source of peace, openness to others, fraternity, and care for creation. These same religions have been, and sometimes still are, used to justify violence and armed struggle: we must refute with our lives these forms of blasphemy that obscure the Holy Name of God. Therefore, through action, cultivate prayer and spirituality as sources of peace and languages of encounter between traditions and cultures.

Do not be afraid: be seeds of peace where the seeds of hatred and resentment grow; be weavers of unity where polarization and enmity reign; be the voice of those who have no voice to demand justice and dignity; be light and salt where the flame of faith and the taste for life are extinguished. Do not give up if someone does not understand you. Saint Charles de Foucauld said that God also uses contrary winds to guide us to safety.

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