Pope at WYD23: It is not enough for Christians to be convinced, they must be convincing

Image Vatican Media

Source: Vatican News ICN

Pope Francis met with students from Universidade Catòlica Portuguesa, on the second day of his visit to World Youth Youth Day in Portugal - before the official opening ceremony.

During their meeting he told them: "There is not future in a world without God." The Pope encouraged the young people to embrace their faith and take risks to change the world, promoting human fraternity on all levels.

During the encounter, the Holy Father listened to the testimonies of refugee students, welcomed by the university, and of students involved in the implementation of the Pope's 2015 encyclical on the environment Laudato si', in the Global Compact on Education, and in the Economy of Francesco initiative.

"I would say: make your faith credible through your choices... For unless faith gives rise to convincing lifestyles," the Pope said, it will not be a "leaven" in the world. It is not enough for us Christians to be convinced he explained, saying "We must also be convincing."

"Our actions are called to reflect, joyfully and radically, the beauty of the Gospel."

He stressed: "Christianity cannot be lived as a fortress surrounded by high walls, one that raises the ramparts against the world."

He thanked one student, Beatriz, for her moving testimony, in which she said i she felt called to live out her faith within the field of culture and that she feels called to live the Beatitudes.

In every age, the Pope recalled, one of the most important tasks for Christians is to recover the meaning of incarnation. Without the incarnation, he warned, Christianity becomes ideology.

"It is the incarnation that enables us to be amazed by the beauty of Christ revealed through every brother and sister, every man and woman."

Pope Francis said it was significant that they named their new academic chair, dedicated to the "Economy of Francesco," after Saint Clare.

"In the Bible, we see how the economy of the family is entrusted largely to women. They are the real heads of the household, possessed of a wisdom aimed not merely at profit, but also at care, coexistence, and the physical and spiritual wellbeing of all, including the poor and the stranger," he said.

"Women are possessed of a wisdom aimed not merely at profit, but also at care, coexistence, and the spiritual wellbeing of all."

The Pope went on to recall that the Global Compact on Education, with its seven overarching principles, encompasses many key issues, to which he urged the students to dedicate their attention, from caring for our common home to the full participation of women and the need for innovative ways of understanding economics, politics, growth and progress.

"I encourage you to study the Global Compact and to become enthusiastic about its contents," he said.

Recalling that one of its points addresses the need to educate about acceptance and inclusion, the Pope underscored: "We cannot pretend that we have not heard the words of Jesus in Chapter 25 of Matthew's Gospel: 'I was a stranger and you welcomed me.'

Pope Francis then urged the students to protect the environment. "We must recognise the dramatic urgency of caring for the common home... Do not forget, happy mediums are only a small delay in the disaster. Instead, it is a matter of taking on what unfortunately continues to be postponed: the need to redefine what we call progress and evolution... Because, in the name of progress, there has been too much regression. Study well what I am telling you: in the name of progress, too much regress has been made," he said.

The Holy Father, who had met with Ukrainian young pilgrims before this meeting, also pointed to the wars plaguing the world.

"We are seeing a third world war in pieces." But, "we embrace the risk of thinking that we are not in agony, but in childbirth; not at the end, but at the beginning of a great spectacle," he said. "It takes courage to think this."

Pope Francis urged the university students to not be paralyzed by fear, but rather to transform their fears into dreams.

Watch the meeting with students on the Vatican Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz6p-SvIQcE