Indifference kills; be signs of hope, pope tells young people

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Young people must reject indifference and embrace their role as a generation of hope and unity to build a better future for the world, Pope Francis said.

Developing a sense of fraternity is "the best answer we can offer to the conflicts and indifference that kill, because indifference kills," the pope told a meeting of young Catholics from around the Mediterranean.

In a video message for participants in the Med24 meeting in Tirana, Albania -- the fourth edition of a meeting for young people organized by churches across the Mediterranean region -- Pope Francis urged young Catholics to "learn how to read the signs of the times together."

"Contemplate the diversity of your traditions as a richness, a richness desired by God," he said in the message published by the Vatican Sept. 17. "Unity is not uniformity, and the diversity of our cultural and religious identities is a gift from God."

The Sept. 15-21 meeting is intended to address issues affecting the Mediterranean region, such as humanitarian crises resulting from conflicts and the lack of work and educational opportunities for professional development. Fifty young people from 25 countries were scheduled to participate in the meeting and discuss issues with bishops from the region.

The theme for the meeting draws from the motto of the Holy Year 2025: "Pilgrims of Hope. Builders of Peace."

Pope Francis asked the young participants to "put the voice of those who are not heard at the center," namely the poor who are "considered a burden" and migrants.

Such issues "are not about numbers, but people, and every person is sacred; it is about faces, whose dignity must be promoted and protected," he said.

"Let us give up the culture of fear to open the door of welcome and friendship," he told them.

The pope also asked the young people to be inspired by the example of Blessed Maria Tuci, an Albanian martyr who died in 1950 at the age of 22 after being imprisoned and tortured by Albania's communist regime.

"Guard the spirit of service in all circumstances, take care of every creature entrusted to your hands," he said. "Know how to walk in the footsteps of your martyrs; their courage is a living testimony that can inspire your commitment to resist all the violence that disfigures humanity."