VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXV - # 213   
   DATE 29-11-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - Encounter with young Ugandans: the blood of martyrs flows in your veins   
   - In the Nalukolongo House of Charity: do not close your doors to the cry of   
   the   
   poor   
   - The Pope meets the clergy of Uganda: maintain memory and continue to be   
   witness   
   - The Pope arrives in the Central African Republic as a pilgrim of peace and an   
   apostle of hope   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Encounter with young Ugandans: the blood of martyrs flows in your veins   
    Vatican City, 29 November 2015 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon the Pope met with   
   the young people of Uganda at the Kololo airstrip, a former airport near   
   Kampala   
   which is currently used for major events, and which is able to hold around a   
   hundred thousand people. The young people had followed the Mass celebrated by   
   Pope Francis a few hours previously at the Catholic Namugongo shrine via the   
   maxi screens installed in the area. The civil authorities responsible for   
   education and sport were also present in Kololo along with, in a special area,   
   200 young deaf people, refugees, and chaplains for youth pastoral ministry. On   
   the stage there were another fifty young people, a couple from each diocese in   
   the country and a group of orphans.   
    The Pope set aside his prepared discourse, which we reproduce below,   
   preferring   
   instead to converse informally with those present after listening to the   
   testimony of two young people, Emmanuel Odokonyero and Winnie Nansumba, who   
   told   
   of their difficult experiences, from sickness and depression to recruitment and   
   witnessing the torture and murder of their friends.   
    "As I listened to Winnie and Emmanuel's testimonies, I asked myself a   
   question:   
   can a negative experience have a purpose in life? Yes! ... Many of us here   
   today   
   have had negative experiences. There is always the possibility of opening up a   
   horizon, of opening it up with the strength of Jesus. ... Because Jesus is the   
   Lord. Jesus can do anything. And Jesus suffered the most negative experience in   
   history: He was insulted, denied and murdered. And Jesus, through the power of   
   God, rose again. He can do the same for each one of us, with every negative   
   experience. This is why Jesus is the Lord.   
    "I imagine, and together we can all imagine Emmanuel's suffering, when he saw   
   his companions tortured, when he saw his companions murdered. But Emmanuel was   
   brave. ... He risked everything, he had faith in Jesus and he escaped. And   
   here he   
   is today, fourteen years later, qualified in management. There is always a way!   
   Our life is like a seed, that must die in order to live again; and at times   
   this   
   means dying physically, like Emmanuel's companions. To die as Charles Lwanga   
   and   
   the martyrs of Uganda died. But through this death there is a life, there is   
   life for all. If I transform a negative into a positive, I am triumphant. But   
   this can be done only with the grace of Jesus. ... Are you willing to   
   transform in   
   life all those negative things into positive things? Are you willing to   
   transform war into peace? Be conscious that you are a people of martyrs. The   
   blood of the martyrs flows in your veins! This is why you have your faith and   
   life. And this faith and life is so beautiful, that it is called the 'pearl of   
   Africa'".   
    "If you believe that Jesus can change your life, ask Him for His help. This is   
   prayer. ... Pray to Jesus, because He is the Saviour. Never cease praying.   
   Prayer   
   is the most powerful weapon a young person has. Jesus loves you. ... So, open   
   the   
   door to your heart and let Him enter. Let Jesus enter into your life. And when   
   Jesus enters your life, He will help you fight, to fight against all problems.   
   ...   
   To fight against depression, to fight against AIDS. Ask for help to overcome   
   these situations, and always to fight. Fight with desire and with prayer".   
    "The third thing I would like to say ... We are all in the Church, we all   
   belong   
   to the Church. ... And the Church has a mother. Mary! ... Pray to Mary! ...   
   When a   
   child falls and hurts himself, he cries and looks for his mother. When we have   
   a   
   problem, the best thing we can do is to go to where our Mother is. To pray to   
   Mary, to pray to our Mother".   
    "Three things", he concluded: "The first: overcome difficulties. The second:   
   transform the negative into positive. And the third: prayer. Pray to Jesus, Who   
   is capable of everything. Jesus, Who enters into our heart and changes our   
   life.   
   Jesus, Who came to save me and who gave His life for me. Let us pray to Jesus,   
   because He is the only Lord. And since in the Church we are not orphans, we   
   have   
   a Mother, let us pray to our Mother".   
    The following is the Holy Father's prepared discourse:   
    "Dear Young Friends,   
    I am happy to be here and to share these moments with you. I greet my brother   
   bishops and the civil authorities present, and I thank Bishop Paul Ssemogerere   
   for his words of welcome. The testimonies of Winnie and Emmanuel confirm my   
   impression that the Church in Uganda is alive with young people who want a   
   better future. Today, if you will allow me, I want to confirm you in your   
   faith,   
   encourage you in your love, and in a special way, strengthen you in your hope.   
    Christian hope is not simply optimism; it is much more. It is rooted in the   
   new   
   life we have received in Jesus Christ. St. Paul tells us that hope will not   
   disappoint us, because God's love was poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit   
   at our baptism. This hope enables us to trust in Christ's promises, to trust in   
   the power of His love, His forgiveness, His friendship. That love opens the   
   door   
   to new life. Whenever you experience a problem, a setback, a failure, you must   
   anchor your heart in that love, for it has the power to turn death into life   
   and   
   to banish every evil.   
    So this afternoon I would invite you, first of all, to pray for this gift to   
   grow within you, and for the grace to become messengers of hope. There are so   
   many people around us who experience deep anxiety and even despair. Jesus lifts   
   these clouds, if we allow Him to.   
    I would also like to share with you a few thoughts about some of the obstacles   
   which you may encounter on our journey of hope. All of you want a better   
   future,   
   employment, health and prosperity. This is good. You want to share your gifts,   
   your aspirations and your enthusiasm with others, for the good of the nation   
   and   
   of the Church. This too is very good. But when you see poverty, when you   
   experience lack of opportunity, when you experience failure in your lives,   
   sometimes a feeling of despair can grow. You can be tempted to lose hope.   
    Have you ever seen a little child who stops in front of a dirty puddle on the   
   path ahead of him? A puddle he cannot leap over or go around? He may try but   
   then he stumbles and gets soaked. Then, after many attempts, he calls out to   
   his   
   father, who takes his hand and swings him over to the other side. We are like   
   that child. Life presents us with many dirty puddles. But we don't have to   
   overcome all those problems and hurdles on our own. God is there to take our   
   hand, if only we call on him.   
    What I am saying is that all of us have to be like that little child, even the   
   Pope! For it is only when we are small and humble that we are not afraid to   
   call   
   out to our Father. If you have experienced his help, you know what I am   
   speaking   
   about. We need to learn to put our hope in him, knowing that he is always there   
   for us. He gives us confidence and courage. But - and this is important - it   
   would be wrong not to share this beautiful experience with others. It would be   
   wrong for us not to become messengers of hope for others.   
    There is one particular puddle which can be frightening to young people who   
   want to grow in their friendship with Christ. It is the fear of failing in our   
   commitment to love, and above all, failing in that great and lofty ideal which   
   is Christian marriage. You may be afraid of failing to be a good wife and   
   mother, failing to be a good husband and father. If you are looking at that   
   puddle, you may even see your weaknesses and fears reflected back to you.   
   Please, don't give in to them! Sometimes these fears come from the devil who   
   does not want you to be happy. No! Call out to God, extend your hearts to him   
   and he will lift you in his arms and show you how to love. I ask young couples   
   in particular to trust that God wants to bless their love and their lives with   
   his grace in the sacrament of marriage. God's gift of love is at the heart of   
   Christian marriage, not the costly parties which often obscure the deep   
   spiritual meaning of this day of joyful celebration with family and friends.   
    Finally, one puddle that we all have to face is the fear of being different,   
   of   
   going against the grain in a society which puts increasing pressure on us to   
   embrace models of gratification and consumption alien to the deepest values of   
   African culture. Think about it! What would the Uganda martyrs say about the   
   misuse of our modern means of communication, where young people are exposed to   
   images and distorted views of sexuality that degrade human dignity, leading to   
   sadness and emptiness? What would be the Uganda martyrs' reaction to the growth   
   of greed and corruption in our midst? Surely they would appeal to you to be   
   model Christians, confident that your love of Christ, your fidelity to the   
   Gospel, and your wise use of your God-given gifts can only enrich, purify and   
   elevate the life of this country. They continue to show you the way. Do not be   
   afraid to let the light of your faith shine in your families, your schools and   
   your places of work. Do not be afraid to enter into dialogue humbly with others   
   who may see things differently.   
    Dear young friends, when I look at your faces I am filled with hope: hope for   
   you, hope for your country, and hope for the Church. I ask you to pray that the   
   hope which you have received from the Holy Spirit will continue to inspire your   
   efforts to grow in wisdom, generosity and goodness. Don't forget to be   
   messengers of that hope! And don't forget that God will help you to cross   
   whatever puddles you meet along the way!   
    Hope in Christ and he will enable you to find true happiness. And if you find   
   it hard to pray, if you find it hard to hope, do not be afraid to turn to Mary,   
   for she is our Mother, the Mother of Hope. Finally, please, do not forget to   
   pray for me! God bless you all!".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    In the Nalukolongo House of Charity: do not close your doors to the cry of the   
   poor   
    Vatican City, 29 November 2015 (VIS) - Yesterday, following his encounter with   
   the young people of Uganda, the Pope transferred to the Nalukolongo House of   
   Charity, founded in 1978 by Cardinal Emmanuel Kikwanuka Nsubunga (1914-1990)   
   and   
   entrusted to the Good Samaritan Sisters, the congregation he founded, which   
   currently cares for around one hundred poor people of any religion or age, from   
   infancy to extreme old age.   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)