Pope in Assisi calls to 'dismantle walls that separate' and reject 'culture of force'

Pope Leo XIV called on young people to reject the "culture of force" and dismantle the walls that divide humanity, urging them to liberate their societies from "phantoms" and "invented enemies born of fear and ignorance." Speaking in Assisi, Italy, during the international youth event 'Go! Franciscan Youth Meeting,' the Pope emphasized the need to build a world of "brothers and sisters" dedicated to loving and serving, rather than exploiting and dominating.

“

To withdraw from the culture of force and to tear down the walls that separate human beings from each other is never to betray the family, the city, the tradition, but to free them from their phantoms, from enemies invented by fear and ignorance, from the violence with which one would impose one's own minuscule order on a reality that completely overwhelms us.

During the Mass he officiated at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, the Pope implored the youth to strive for a world of embrace, not defense, especially in the face of the perennial danger of constructing an "inhuman and more unjust world." He encouraged them to "have the audacity to believe in the word of the Gospel, be very human with the freedom of Jesus Christ, embrace sister poverty!"

The pontiff urged the young attendees to venture into "marginalized places where injustice and the arrogance of a few deny the dignity and dreams of many, too many children of God." He implored them to emulate Saint Francis by "touching human misery," acknowledging that, like the saint, they might not always be understood by their own families.

“

And well, dear young people, today Europe and the whole world look to you for new saints: have the audacity to believe in the word of the Gospel, be very human with the freedom of Jesus Christ, embrace sister poverty!

"To withdraw from the culture of force and to tear down the walls that separate human beings from each other is never to betray the family, the city, the tradition, but to free them from their phantoms, from enemies invented by fear and ignorance, from the violence with which one would impose one's own minuscule order on a reality that completely overwhelms us," the Pope stated. He concluded by urging them to champion "the civilization of love" and become "artisans of peace," committed to serving life even in the most tragic scenarios of death.

“

We may not even be understood by those in our own house, as happened to St. Francis.