Pope Francis to young people:
‘Love's not dead’
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| Pope Francis meets with young people in the Lutheran Charles Church, Tallinn, Estonia. (Vatican Media) |
Pope Francis meets with young people in an ecumenical
gathering in the Lutheran Charles Church in Tallinn, Estonia on Tuesday,
saying, “Love is not dead—it calls us and sends us forth”.
By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp
During his Apostolic Visit to Estonia on
Tuesday, Pope Francis met with young people in an ecumenical
gathering in the Lutheran Charles Church. He drew
inspiration for his remarks from a painting in the apse of the Church bearing
the verse from Matthew, “Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28).
Young people can identify with Jesus
Pope Francis began his remarks by thanking three of the
young people, Lisbel, Tauri and Mirko, who gave their testimonies. He then told
the young people gathered that they could “identify with some of the things
going on in the section of the Gospel” depicted in the painting. At this point,
Jesus feels misunderstood and Matthew notes that Jesus is saddened by this (cf
11:20-24).
Frequently you too, as young people, can feel that the
adults around you do not appreciate your hopes and desires; sometimes, when
they see you very happy, they get suspicious; and if they see you anxious about
something, they downplay it, the Pope said.
Companions along the way
The Pope then referred to the pre-Synodal process in which
many young people “expressed the desire to have a companion along the
way”. He acknowledged that the institutional structures of the Christian
churches
at times bring attitudes that make it easier for [adults]
to talk, give advice, speak from our own experience, rather than listen, be
challenged and learn from what you are experiencing.
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