VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 012   
   DATE 18-01-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - Francis to Filipino youth: act with integrity, honesty, and do not be afraid   
   to love   
   - The Pope meets the father of the volunteer who died in Tacloban   
   - Concluding Mass in Manila: the child Jesus, protector of the Philippines   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Francis to Filipino youth: act with integrity, honesty, and do not be afraid   
   to love   
    Vatican City, 18 January 2015 (VIS) - The Pope visited the Pontifical and   
   Royal University of Santo Tomas to meet with the leaders of the main religious   
   confessions represented in the Philippines. Currently attended by forty   
   thousand students, the University of Santo Tomas is managed by Dominican   
   Fathers, and it is the largest and oldest university in Asia. It recently   
   celebrated the fourth centenary of its foundation and has received the   
   patronage of the Spanish crown since 1680.   
    Upon arrival the Pope was received by the chancellor and the rector, and   
   greeted the religious leaders. Shortly after he toured the campus by   
   Popemobile to greet the ten thousand students who awaited him. He then   
   proceeded to the sports field, able to hold thirty thousand people, where he   
   gave an off-the-cuff address in Spanish, answering various questions such as   
   "Why do children suffer?", "How does one live true love?", "How can one   
   contribute professionally to compassion and mercy without falling prey to   
   materialism?".   
    Beforehand, the Holy Father shared with those present the sad news of the   
   death of the young volunteer Kristel Padasas in Tacloban yesterday. "She was   
   27 years old; she was young, like you, and worked for an association. I would   
   like us all to pray in silence a minute and then invoke our heavenly Mother.   
   And let us pray also for her parents".   
    The original text of the Pope's planned discourse is published below:   
    "Dear young friends, it is a joy for me to be with you this morning. I greet   
   each of you from the heart, and I thank all those who made this meeting   
   possible. During my visit to the Philippines, I wanted to meet with young   
   people, to listen to you and to talk with you. I want to express the love and   
   the hopes of the Church for you. And I want to encourage you, as Christian   
   citizens of this country, to offer yourselves passionately and honestly to the   
   great work of renewing your society and helping to build a better world.   
    "In a special way, I thank the young people who have offered words of welcome   
   to me. They have expressed eloquently, in your name, your concerns and   
   worries, your faith and your hopes. They have spoken of the difficulties and   
   the expectations of the young. Although I cannot respond to each of these   
   issues at length, I know that, together with your pastors and among   
   yourselves, you will prayerfully consider them and make concrete proposals for   
   action in your lives.   
    "Today I would like to suggest three key areas where you have a significant   
   contribution to make to the life of your country. The first of these is the   
   challenge of integrity. The word 'challenge' can be understood in two ways.   
   First, it can be understood negatively, as a temptation to act against your   
   moral convictions, what you know to be true, good and right. Our integrity can   
   be challenged by selfish interest, greed, dishonesty, or the willingness to   
   use other people.   
    "But the word 'challenge' can be also understood positively. It can be seen   
   as invitation to courage, a summons to bear prophetic witness to what you   
   believe and hold sacred. In this sense, the challenge of integrity is   
   something which you have to face now, at this time in your lives. It is not   
   something you can put off until you are older or have greater re   
   ponsibilities. Even now you are challenged to act with honesty and fairness in   
   your dealings with others, young and old alike. Do not avoid the challenge!   
   One of the greatest challenges young people face is learning to love. To love   
   means to take a risk: the risk of rejection, the risk of being taken advantage   
   of, or worse, of taking advantage of another. Do not be afraid to love! But in   
   love, too, maintain your integrity! Here too, be honest and fair!   
    "In the reading we have just heard, Paul tells Timothy: 'Let no one have   
   contempt for your youth, but set an example for those who believe, in speech,   
   conduct, love, faith, and purity'. You are called, then, to set a good   
   example, an example of integrity. Naturally, in doing this, you will encounter   
   opposition, negativity, discouragement, and even ridicule. But you have   
   received a gift which enables you to rise above those difficulties. It is the   
   gift of the Holy Spirit. If you nurture this gift by daily prayer and draw   
   strength from sharing in the Eucharist, you will be able to achieve that moral   
   greatness to which Jesus calls you. You will also be a compass for those of   
   your friends who are struggling. I think especially of those young people who   
   are tempted to lose hope, to abandon their high ideals, to drop out of school,   
   or to live from day to day on the streets.   
    "So it is essential not to lose your integrity! Not to compromise your   
   ideals! Not to give in to temptations against goodness, holiness, courage and   
   purity! Rise to the challenge! With Christ, you will be - indeed you already   
   are! - the architects of a renewed and more just Filipino culture.   
    "A second key area where you are called to make a contribution is in showing   
   concern for the environment. This is not only because this country, more than   
   many others, is likely to be seriously affected by climate change. You are   
   called to care for creation not only as responsible citizens, but also as   
   followers of Christ! Respect for the environment means more than simply using   
   cleaner products or recycling what we use. These are important aspects, but   
   not enough. We need to see, with the eyes of faith, the beauty of God's saving   
   plan, the link between the natural environment and the dignity of the human   
   person. Men and women are made in the image and likeness of God, and given   
   dominion over creation. As stewards of God's creation, we are called to make   
   the earth a beautiful garden for the human family. When we destroy our   
   forests, ravage our soil and pollute our seas, we betray that noble calling.   
    "Three months ago, your Bishops addressed these issues in a prophetic   
   Pastoral Letter. They asked everyone to think about the moral dimension of our   
   activities and lifestyles, our consumption and our use of the earth's   
   resources. Today I ask you to do this in the context of your own lives and   
   your commitment to the building up of Christ's kingdom. Dear young people, the   
   just use and stewardship of the earth's resources is an urgent task, and you   
   have an important contribution to make. You are the future of the Philippines.   
   Be concerned about what is happening to your beautiful land!   
    "A final area in which you can make a contribution is one dear to all of us.   
   It is care for the poor. We are Christians. We are members of God's family. No   
   matter how much or how little we have individually, each one of us is called   
   to personally reach out and serve our brothers and sisters in need. There is   
   always someone near us who is in need, materially, emotionally, spiritually.   
   The greatest gift we can give to them is our friendship, our concern, our   
   tenderness, our love for Jesus. To receive Jesus is to have everything; to   
   give Him is to give the greatest gift of all.   
    "Many of you know what it is to be poor. But many of you have also   
   experienced something of the blessedness that Jesus promised to 'the poor in   
   spirit'. Here I would say a word of encouragement and gratitude to those of   
   you who choose to follow our Lord in his poverty through a vocation to the   
   priesthood and the religious life; by drawing on that poverty you will enrich   
   many. But to all of you, especially those who can do more and give more, I   
   ask: Please, do more! Please, give more! When you give of your time, your   
   talents and your resources to the many people who struggle and who live on the   
   margins, you make a difference. It is a difference that is so desperately   
   needed, and one for which you will be richly rewarded by the Lord. For, as he   
   has said: 'you will have treasure in heaven'.   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)