Pope urges young Holy Land peacemakers to ‘keep hope alive’

By Joseph Tulloch

On Monday morning, Pope Francis met with a youth delegation from the Universal Peace Council.

He appealed to the participants, who came from different religious and cultural backgrounds, to place hope, dialogue and reconciliation at the heart of their work as “great artisans of peace”.

In his address, the Pope praised the young delegates’ commitment to peace in the Holy Land, which, he said, had “once more been engulfed in the dark clouds of conflict”.

And he emphasised that young people can play a key role in the peace process, because of their their idealism and creativity.

Young people as bearers of hope

However, the Pope emphasised, “your task is not easy”, and for this reason he offered three “brief points” for reflection.

The Pope emphasised that young people have the ability to heal old wounds and put aside prejudices. “Young people remind us that a better world is possible,” he said.

At the same time, he warned against the danger of ‘ideology’, saying that it hinders “creativity” and “the will to do good”.

“An unhealthy attachment to past hurts and prejudices,” the Pope stressed, “can never lead to true and lasting peace”.

The Pope with members of the Council

Dialogue as the key to peace

“Dialogue is the only way to peace,” the Pope emphasised, calling on young people to always seek closeness with others and mutual understanding.

He went on to quote from his encyclical Fratelli tutti: “Through dialogue, young people can become great artists of peace.”

Do not lose hope

In conclusion, the Pope spoke about the importance of hope, especially in the face of war, poverty and discrimination.

Such problems, he said, “may lead us to think that our engagement in dialogue is futile because it produces few concrete results. “

In moments where we are tempted by such thoughts, the Pope said, it is important to “remember that anything worth doing is not easy. They require sacrifice and a willingness to recommit ourselves each day, especially when things seem not to go our way.”

Bringing his speech to a close, the Pope urged his audience to “keep hope alive.”