The Evangelical Pope | Resources of Youth

Guinea: Conakry – National Museum of Guinea, Wikimedia

Each week we let Saint Pope John Paul II share meaningful signposts to spark socio-economic resolves through justice and righteousness combined with mercy and compassion; in short, love.

               ¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

               __ Matthew 7:12 (New International Version)

Palais du Peuple de Conakry (Guinée/Guinea)—24 February 1992 | I am happy to see so many of you gathered. You show me all the life and friendship of your people. Thank you for welcoming me in your presence. Among you, many young Muslims came to accompany the young Catholics for this meeting with the Pope. I am sensitive to your presence, which shows your sympathy for your fellow Christians and the mutual respect you have for each other's religious faith.

Thank you to your spokespersons, who told me what is in your heart, your joys and worries, and your desire to build a fraternal world for the future.

I want to help you – reflect for a moment on the meaning of your life because I feel you are worried when the world changes quickly. There are upheavals on your continent and elsewhere. At the same time, we cannot see more justice and more fraternity coming quickly enough. But if I want to talk to you about your future, it is because you can face your difficulties with all the resources of your youth, and you will move history forward.

As I Look at each of you, I am reminded of the profound gift of life. Have you ever paused to consider this?

               The life of a human being is a precious and sacred thing, deserving of the utmost respect when we allow a human being to be humiliated or when we disregard the sanctity of life, we descend into a state of barbarism.

               We all must recognize and uphold the equal dignity of men and women, boys and girls. Too often, women are objectified and seen as serving men in society.

               In your interactions, it is vital to acknowledge the profound value of the feminine role. This is one way of showing respect to the woman who brought you into this world.

Everyone must also respect their own life.

The human person has a mind, a heart, and a body. The young person who forms his personality must develop his mind and intelligence, purify the affections that rise in his heart, and be attentive to the health and development of his body. Because these inseparable elements of our being are our precious possessions, we have no right to degrade them.

We believe that human life is God's gift and even a reflection of God's beauty. Our privilege is to have conscience and freedom. Consciously using one's freedom is, in short, the first duty to honor the parents who transmitted life and God, who is its origin.

Excerpted from:

VOYAGE APOSTOLIQUE AU SÉNÉGAL, EN GAMBIE ET EN GUINÉE, DISCOURS DU SAINT-PÈRE JEAN-PAUL II, AUX JEUNES DE GUINÉE, Palais du Peuple de Conakry (Guinée), Lundi, 24 février 1992

https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/fr/speeches/1992/february/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19920224_giovani-guinea.html