{"id":55889,"date":"2025-12-02T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.omnesmag.com\/?p=55889"},"modified":"2025-12-04T10:46:57","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T08:46:57","slug":"popes-encouragement-to-young-lebanese-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.omnesmag.com\/en\/actualidad\/impulso-del-papa-a-los-jovenes-libaneses\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope encourages young Lebanese people to build a future of peace"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u201cThe true opposition to evil is not evil, but love, a love capable of healing one\u2019s own wounds and at the same time caring for the wounds of others,\u201d said Pope Leo XIV on December 1, as he met with thousands of young people in front of the headquarters of the Maronite Patriarchate of Antioch in Bkerk\u00e9, overlooking Beirut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pope Leo met with 15,000 young people after meeting with their elders, representatives of the country's Christian, Muslim, Druze, and Alawite communities, in Martyrs' Square in Beirut. This is a place that pays tribute to those who fought for Lebanon's independence and were executed there in 1916. The martyrs came from all religious communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two questions for the Pope<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
During their meeting, the young people asked the Pope two questions: how to maintain inner peace and hope \u201cin a country deprived of stability, both in terms of security and the economy.\u201d And how to keep families, marriages, and friendships strong in a world dominated by the digital and the ephemeral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pope Leo told them to look for good examples around them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTake advantage of the good roots of those who dedicate themselves to serving society without using them for their own interests,\u201d he said. \u201cWith a generous commitment to justice, let's plan together for a future of peace and development. Be the source of hope that the country is waiting for!\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus, the first one we should turn to<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
For Christians, the Pope said, Jesus is the first person we should turn to for help, both in peace and in relationships, because both require love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf our ego is at the center of a friendship or romantic relationship, it cannot bear fruit,\u201d he said. \u201cSimilarly, it is not true love if we only love temporarily, while the feeling lasts: if love has a time limit, it is not true love.\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Love and charity express God's presence in the world \u201cmore than anything else,\u201d the Pope told them. \u201cCharity speaks a universal language, because it reaches every heart.\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPope Leo XIV greets the crowd from a mini popemobile during a meeting with Lebanese youth in the square in front of the Maronite Patriarchate of Antioch in Bkerk\u00e9, Lebanon, on December 1, 2025. (Photo CNS\/Lola Gomez).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Friendship with Christ and people of other cultures and religions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pope Leo encouraged them to look to the example of their contemporaries who have not been discouraged \u201cby injustices and negative examples, even those within the Church. On the contrary, they have sought to forge new paths in search of the kingdom of God and his justice.\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDrawing on the strength you receive from Christ, build a world better than the one you have inherited,\u201d he told them, and make friends with people of different cultures and religions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe true renewal desired by a young heart begins with everyday gestures: welcoming those near and far, offering a hand to friends and refugees, forgiving enemies: a difficult but necessary task,\u201d said Pope Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Walking together<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Syrian Catholic Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan welcomed the Pope to the ecumenical and interfaith gathering in Martyrs\u201c Square. \u201dWith the grace of the Almighty, the Heavenly Father, according to us Christians, and Almighty Allah Ta\u2019ala, according to our Muslim brothers and sisters, we commit ourselves to walk together,\u201c he told them. \u201dAlways inspired by the hope that never disappoints, to become builders of true peace in Lebanon and in all the countries of the Middle East.\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pope Leo was also welcomed by the leaders of the country's Sunni and Shia Muslim communities, the spiritual leader of the Druze, the patriarchs of the Greek Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, and Armenian Orthodox churches, and the president of the Evangelical Christian community.<\/p>\n\n\n\nA young man takes a photo of Pope Leo XIV at the same event with young people in Bkerk\u00e9, Lebanon, December 1, 2025 (CNS photo\/Lola Gomez).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
There were also women<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
All of the speakers were men, but there were many women in the audience who were involved in the search for peace and dialogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mireille Hamouche, an Orthodox Greek woman married to a Maronite, is part of the Women's Network for Peacebuilding in Lebanon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI can assure you that, behind the scenes, the real protagonists and activists for peace are mainly women,\u201d she told Catholic News Service. \u201cThis has been the case throughout history because, obviously, after every war, there are more women than men left in a society,\u201d and it is they who must \u201cheal society\u201d once the fighting is over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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