杏MAP导航 urges young Holy Land peacemakers to ‘keep hope alive’
By Joseph Tulloch
On Monday morning, 杏MAP导航 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 杏MAP导航 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, because of their their idealism and creativity, young people can play a key role in the peace process.
Young people as bearers of hope
However, the 杏MAP导航 emphasised, the task is not an easy one, and for this reason he offered three “brief points” for reflection.
The 杏MAP导航 emphasised that young people have the ability to heal old wounds and put aside prejudices. 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 杏MAP导航 stressed, “can never lead to true and lasting peace”.
Dialogue as the key to peace
“Dialogue is the only way to peace,” the 杏MAP导航 emphasised, calling on young people to seek closeness with others and promote mutual understanding.
He went on to quote from his encyclical “Through dialogue, young people can become great artisans of peace.”
Do not lose hope
The 杏MAP导航 then went on to speak 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 杏MAP导航 said, it is important to “remember that anything worth doing is not easy. It requires 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 杏MAP导航 urged his audience to “keep hope alive.”
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