At the end of today’s general audience, the Pope told the young people present: «In meeting with you, I am already thinking of the imminent World Youth Day. Pray so that it will be a propitious occasion to experience the joy of being authentic witnesses of Christ.»
The July 23-28 event in Canada’s largest city is expected to gather 300,000 young people.
«The new generations are called by John Paul II to make a leap of quality of life,» L’Osservatore Romano, the semiofficial Vatican newspaper, explained in a Page 1 article in Thursday’s edition.
«It is necessary to have the courage to abandon the idols and fashions to embrace the cross of Christ, as a sign of solidarity and sharing. Only in this way is the civilization of love constructed,» the article added.
