In 2021 Kendra Baker moved to Seattle after graduating from Western Washington University. She always lived her Catholic faith. Her father fell from the roof of their home and suffered wounds that put his life in danger. The family called a priest to pray with them. Hours later her father opened his eyes. “The doctors had told us to prepare ourselves for a funeral. He learned to walk again, to speak, to drive and can eat normally.” Kendra felt a “subtle impulse” to the religious life, motivated by something more than her father’s recovery. “It wasn’t a resounding voice of God saying: ‘Kendra, go to the convent now.’”

After much reflection and prayer, Kendra found a Religious Community aligned with her interest in contemplative spirituality and pastoral service. Initially, she was accepted as a candidate by the Carmelite Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Los Angeles, but afterwards there was an “impediment”: the debt of her student loan.

One who enters religious life in the Catholic tradition makes a vow of poverty, but it’s not right to charge debts to the Community on one’s arrival; in general, candidates pay their debts before. There are Communities with no income to attend to those payments. There are some 20% of Americans with University degrees that have student loan debts (namely, loans acquired during the period of studies to pay the University), and they have complications to follow their consecrated vocation once their studies have ended.

A Report of the United States National Conference of Religious Vocations warned in 2013 that “the educational debt has become a dissuasive element for many in discerning their religious vocation.” The average debt of student loans in the United States is around US$30,000.

Organizations have arisen that help candidates to Religious Orders with this problem, such as the Labouré Society, to which Kendra took recourse. Since 2003, this Society has supported 400 Catholics desirous of following the religious life.

The Labouré Society gives part of the necessary money and facilitates candidates to collect money in six months through telephone calls, writing of letters, and assisting at meetings with potential donors in their communities. Kendra thought she’d need between five and ten years to pay her debt with the Labouré Society’s system, but she achieved her objective in less than six months and will enter the Religious Community of her choice in Los Angeles this summer.

Kristen Chenoweth, a convert from Lutheranism to Catholicism, followed another path. At 30, she completed her degree in Family Ministry and a Master’s in the Administration of Non-Profit Organizations. She wished to enter the Community of the Dominican Sisters of the Immaculate Conception in Illinois, but was burdened with a US$80,000 debt in student loans. Kristen paid her loans by working, living austerely, collecting funds in Grand Rapids, Michigan and selling Rosaries on Etsy. She collected US$5,000 from the sale of Rosaries and US$23,000 with the help of the Dominican Sisters and her GoFundMe program. Then she was given the news that the Catholic Fund for Vocations, which supports student loans, would pay the rest.

The Fund for Vocations doesn’t request aspirants to collect funds, but to make monthly payments for their student loans during their time of formation for the religious life. This Fund began its activity in the year 2000 and has grown considerably over the last years. It allocated 28 grants amounting to US$900,000 last year, for amounts between 5,000 and 7,000 dollars.

Some Religious Orders request aspirants to have University degrees to enter the Order, especially institutions that offer medical and educational services. Some aspirants commit themselves to pay their students debts, but might meet with difficulties when it comes to their perpetual vows, if they committed themselves to pay them before their religious profession.

Gianna Casino studied Biochemistry and graduated with a US$20,000 debt. Her family committed to pay it by making monthly payments. However, her parents met with financial difficulties and the payments ceased. It was the Fund for Vocations that liquidated the rest of the remaining loan.

Gianna has begun studies to be a mental health clinical adviser at the Divine Mercy University. She completed her mental health formation at Harvard’s School of Medicine.

The lack of vocations poses new challenges, such as freedom from financial limitations, which make difficult entrance in a Seminary or Religious Congregation. To be noted is the solidarity of the Church, where some members of the Mystical Body resolve the needs for the good of other members and of all the ecclesial community.

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“You Have Received a Call from the Lord”

The Holy Father thanked the Seville delegation, whose members he encouraged “to live these days with wonder and gratitude for the gift of faith transmitted to us by the Apostles.” The Pontiff framed the meeting on the eve “of a very significant day: Good Shepherd Sunday, which we celebrate tomorrow,” and, addressing the seminarians, he reminded them that they had “received a call from the Lord and, with the help of your formators, you are preparing yourselves to be shepherds after the Heart of Christ.”

In his address, Pope Francis highlighted four aspects of seminarians’ formative stage: ”the spiritual life, study, community life and apostolic activity,” and he underscored the urgency of their integration “to become complete priests and respond to the vocation received, in total dedication to God and to brothers and sisters, especially those that suffer most.” In the Holy Father’s words, “this integration is necessary, I would say it is urgent, to become complete priests and respond to the vocation received, in total dedication to God and to brothers and sisters, especially those that suffer most.”

The Pope Highlighted the Teaching of Blessed Marcelo Spinola

On this point, the Pope recalled the figure of the Blessed Cardinal Marcelo Spinola, “one of the many holy shepherds that this Andalusian land has had throughout history.” “This Blessed, teacher of priests, said: “Virtue and knowledge are the two things that must be taught preferably to aspirants to the priesthood, as knowledge without virtue swells and does not edify, and virtue without knowledge edifies but does not instruct.” This means, as we were saying, that everything in the priest — prayer, study, brotherhood, mission — is united.” The Holy Father ended his address to the seminarians of Seville with this advice: “Make good use of this intense time of formation, with your heart in God, with open hands and a big smile to spread the joy of the Gospel to all those you meet.”

At the end of his intervention, the Holy Father dedicated time for dialogue with the future priests of the Andalusian Archdiocese, responding with naturalness to questions regarding the formation and mission of a presbyter today.

“Avoid the Danger of Spiritual Worldliness”

After the audience, the Archbishop of Seville shared with the media the emotion felt by the Sevillian delegation “for having listened to the word of the Successor of Peter, who confirmed us in the faith, in the vocation and in the mission.” Archbishop Saiz Meneses said the Pope “gave us a beautiful address on the human, spiritual, intellectual, pastoral, and communitarian formation, on the wonder we must always have in our life, and in our day to day for the Lord’s irruption in our existence, calling us to be His collaborators in the establishment of His Kingdom, with some beautiful underscoring on the joy and good humour that must reign in our priestly life.”

The Archbishop also wished to highlight how the Holy Father “has called us to avoid the danger of spiritual worldliness that can go introducing itself [even] under very correct forms but that deep down is sterile. Hence, he added, the Pope “stressed union with Jesus Christ, dedication to Him and dedication to the People He has entrusted to us.”

For his part, the Rector of the Metropolitan Seminary, Andres Ibarra, pointed out that they had met with “a person very much of God, who transmitted to us the God he has in his heart and who puts us on the path of the priesthood, of the mission and of surrender to the Lord with very much joy.” The Rector of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary, Ramon Gonzalez, emphasized that “Francis carries on his shoulders the weight of the Church with the strength of Jesus Christ and is at the foot of the canyon to encourage them, so that they give themselves one hundred percent. “When we return [home], we will have to reflect further on all the suggestions he’s given us and bring them to life,” he added.

“His Closeness Is a Gift for Us”

Javier Llorente, one of the seminarians who attended the papal audience, said the day was “a unique experience that reinforces our sense of community.” He was emotional as he left the papal dependencies and added that “seminarians are Pope Francis’ weakness and he gives a father’s advice. His closeness is a gift for us.”

Pablo Franco, another seminarian who assessed the meeting with the Holy Father, said: “I’m going to remember this moment always because I’ve had the opportunity to ask him about an anxiety I have in my heart and he helped me a lot. He encouraged me to continue going forward in my vocation with joy, not losing my smile and trusting in the Lord. For me, Francis is a genuine witness.”

Following is the full text of the Pontiff’s greeting to the seminarians.

* * *

Dear Brothers,

I am happy to welcome the communities of the Metropolitan Seminary and the “Redemptoris Mater” Seminary of Seville who, together with Archbishop José Ángel Saiz Meneses, have come on pilgrimage to the tomb of the Apostle Peter. I thank them for this visit and encourage them to live these days with wonder and gratitude for the gift of faith that the Apostles passed on to us.

Our meeting is on the eve of a very significant day: Good Shepherd Sunday, which we celebrate tomorrow. You seminarians have received a calling from the Lord, and with the help of your formators you are preparing yourselves to be shepherds after the Heart of Christ.

On other occasions, I have told seminarians that this journey of configuration to Jesus the Good Shepherd must be done by taking care of four aspects: spiritual life, study, community life and apostolic activity.

This integration is necessary, I would say urgent, in order to become complete priests and to respond to the vocation received, in total dedication to God and to our brothers and sisters, especially those who suffer most. In this regard, I would like to highlight the figure of one of the many holy shepherds that this Andalusian land has had throughout history, that of Blessed Cardinal Marcelo Spínola y Maestre, with whom you are well acquainted. This Blessed, teacher of priests, said: “Virtue and knowledge are the two things that should be taught in preference to those aspiring to the priesthood, for knowledge without virtue swells and does not edify, and virtue without knowledge edifies but does not instruct.” This means, as we said, that everything in the priest — prayer, study, fraternity, mission — must go together.

Dear seminarians, make good use of this intense time of formation, with your heart in God, with open hands and a big smile to spread the joy of the Gospel to all those you meet. May Jesus bless you and the Virgin of the Kings accompany you. Thank you very much.

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***

Dear boys, dear girls, dear teachers, good morning everyone!

I am pleased to meet once again the national network of “Schools for Peace”. I greet Dr. Lotti and I welcome all of you.

I first want to thank you. Thank you for this journey, rich in ideas, initiatives, educational processes and activities, which are intended to promote a new vision of the world. Thank you for being full of enthusiasm in pursuing objectives of beauty and goodness, in the midst of dramatic situations, injustices and violence that disfigure human dignity. Thank you, because with passion and generosity you are committed to working in the “building site” of the future, overcoming the temptation of a life restricted merely to today, that risks losing the ability to dream big. Today however, more than ever, there is a need to live responsibly, broadening our horizons, looking forward and sowing day by day those seeds of peace that tomorrow will be able to germinate and bear fruit. Thank you, boys and girls!

This coming September, the Summit of the Future will take place in New York, convened by the United Nations to face the major global challenges of this moment in history and to sign a “Pact for the Future” and a “Declaration on the future generations”. It will be an important event, and your contribution is needed so that it does not remain “on paper”, but becomes concrete and is implemented through processes and actions for change.

You carry in your heart this great dream: “Let us transform the future. For peace, with care”. And it I would like to pause briefly to tell you something I believe very much: that you are called – listen carefully – you are called to be protagonists and not spectators of the future.

I ask you: to what are you called? To be what? (The young people answer). I can’t hear you! (The young people answer loudly). Come on! Go ahead! The convocation of this global Summit, in fact, reminds us that we are all called to build a better future and, above all, that we must build it together! I ask you: can we build the future by ourselves? (The young people answer “no”). I can’t hear you… (A loud “no”). Must we build it? (“Yes!”). Good! We cannot simply delegate the worries for the “world that will come” and for the resolution of its problems to the designated institutions and to those who have particular social and political responsibilities. It is true that these challenges require specific competences, but it is equally true that they affect us closely, touching the lives of everyone and demanding active participation and personal commitment from each one of us. In a globalized world like this, where we are all interdependent, it is not possible to proceed as individuals who tend only to their own “garden”, who cultivate their own interests: it is instead necessary to connect and form networks. What is needed? To connect and form networks. What is needed? To connect and form networks. All together: (The young people answer the Pope’s appeal). Good, yes, and this is important: it is necessary to connect, to work in synergy and harmony. This means passing from “I” to “we”, passing from “I” to “we”: not “I work for my own good”, but “we work for the common good, for the good of all”. We work for the good of all. Together… (The young people repeat). Good!

In effect, today’s challenges, and especially the risks that, like dark clouds, gather above us, threatening our future, have also become global. They affect all of us, they challenge the enter human community, they require the courage and creativity of a collective dream that inspires constant commitment in order to confront together the environmental crises, the economic crisis, the political and social crises that our planet is going through.

Dear boys, dear girls, dear teachers, it is a dream that requires that we be awake, and not slumbering! Yes, because it is brought about by working, not sleeping; walking the streets, not lying on the sofa; using information media well, not wasting time on social media; and then – listen carefully – this type of dream is fulfilled also with prayer, that is, together with God, and not by our own strength alone.

Dear students, dear teachers, you have placed two key words at the heart of your commitment: peace and care. They are two interconnected realities: indeed, peace is not merely the silence of weapons and absence of war; it is a climate of benevolence, trust and love that can mature in a society based on relations of care, in which individualism, distraction and indifference give way to the capacity to pay attention to others, to listen to them in their fundamental needs, to heal their wounds, to be instruments of compassion and healing for him or her. This is the care that Jesus has towards humanity, in particular towards the most fragile, and of which the Gospel speaks often. From mutual “caring” an inclusive society is born, founded on peace and dialogue.

In this time, still marked by war, I ask you to be artisans of peace; in a society still imprisoned by the throwaway culture, I ask you to be protagonists of inclusion; in a world traversed by global crises, I ask you to be builders of the future, so that our common home may become a place of fraternity.

I would like to speak to you for a couple of minutes about war… Think of the children who are in war, think of the Ukrainian children who have forgotten how to smile… Pray for these children, keep them in your heart… the children who are at war. Think of the children of Gaza, under fire, hungry… Think of the children. Now a moment’s silence, and each one of you, think of the Ukrainian children and the children of Gaza…

I wish for you always to be impassioned by the dream of peace! I say so with the motto of Don Lorenzo Milani, the prior of Barbiana, who opposed “I don’t care”, typical of mindless indifference, with the “I care”, that is, “I take it to heart”, “I am interested”. May all this be dear to you, may you always care about the fate of our planet and your fellow human beings; may you care about the future that is opening before us, so that it may truly be as God dreams it for all: a future of peace and beauty for all humanity. And may you care about the children of Ukraine, who forget to smile. The children of Gaza, who suffer under machine-gun fire. I bless you from my heart. Enjoy school and have a good journey! And please remember to pray for me.

Thank you very much!

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The expert’s conclusion is “failure.” The clinics and experts were mistaken in their approach because: ‘There are no scientific reasons to proceed to sex change when we are talking about a youth younger than 25 years.’ The conclusions of the 388-page study also point out that: “Medicine concerned with sex change is built on an insecure foundation.”

The Report on sex change, signed by paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass, has 32 recommendations, the most important of which are addressed to doctors and specialists who are urged to proceed with “extreme caution” to a request for sex change, as the brain as well as sexual identity continue developing up to 25 years of age.

“It used to be thought that brain maturation finished in adolescence, but it is now understood that this remodelling continues into the mid-20s as different parts become more interconnected and specialised,” the Report notes.

The research included interviews with hundreds of young people, both those that completed the process of gender reassignment (through hormonal therapies , aesthetic surgery, psychological support) as well as those that, once the process of gender affirmation was initiated or completed, decided to interrupt or reverse it to return to their original gender. Among the former, many regretted their choice when it was already too late.

According to Dr Cass, thousands of children didn’t have access to proper advice and changed their gender without due awareness. In her Report she urges, in the first place to “go more slowly and with caution” and asks that hormones not be given to children younger than 18 because there is no evidence that the drugs “buy time to think” or “reduce suicide risks.” In short, although drugs can suppress puberty, the research carried out found that the drugs have no effect on the person’s body satisfaction or their experience of gender dysphoria.

Dr Cass also advised parents and teachers to exercise great caution with primary school children that express a sexual identity different from that which corresponds to them. Moreover, she points out that, often, parents feel pressured and, hence, let their children change their identity for fear of being labelled transphobic.

The Report was welcomed by, among others, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who highlighted the impacting data it contained, beginning by the number of those that have decided to change their sex, which has gone from 250 ten years ago (almost all men) to 5,000 at present, more than double than in 2022 (the majority women). “We don’t know the long-term impact  of the medical treatment that leads to sex reassignment and, for this reason, we must act with great caution,” said Prime Minister Sunak.

The response of the British National Health System (NHS) to the “Cass Report” was immediate. A letter, addressed to the renowned paediatrician and signed by John Stewart, one of the NHS Directors, includes the commitment to opt for a new focus, based on the conclusions of the research, and to suspend for the time being, all appointments to children under 18, which British clinics offer in which sex reassignment can be obtained. In addition, the text continues, the distribution of hormones, such as estrogen and progesterone, will be reconsidered, as already happened with hormonal blockers some weeks ago.

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According to the most recent findings, around 30% of American adults regularly attend religious services, marking a gradual decrease over the last two decades, when this percentage was considerably higher. This drop in regular religious attendance is a phenomenon that has been increasing, reflecting social and cultural changes in American society.

Breaking down this data by religious groups, an interesting panorama emerges: Mormons, known officially as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, head the list as the group most committed to regular attendance of religious services. An impressive two-thirds of Mormons report that they attend church weekly or almost weekly, which reflects a high level of observance within this community.

Protestants are in second place, including a variety of Christian denominations. Approximately 44% of Protestants regularly attend religious services, which demonstrates a solid base of attendance within this diverse religious group.

Muslims and Catholics are in the third and fourth place respectively, in terms of regular attendance of religious services. Around 38% of Muslims and 33% of Catholics report that they attend services regularly, which indicates  a significant commitment to religious practice in these communities.

However, among the smallest religious groups, such as Jews, Orthodox, Buddhists and Hindus, regular attendance of religious services is considerably lower. Less than 30% of these groups report regular attendance of religious services, the majority stating that they rarely or never attend.

It’s important to point out that the data shows a downward trend in regular attendance of religious services in almost all religions. This decline has been especially pronounced among Catholics, with a drop of 45% to 33% in regular attendance over the last two decades. Jews, Orthodox, Buddhists and other religious groups have also experienced a decrease in regular attendance of religious services over this period.

Despite these general downward trends, there are some exceptions. For instance, adult Muslims and Jews showed a slight increases in attendance of religious services over the last two decades. This increase could reflect a renewed interest in religious practice within these communities.

In conclusion, the data compiled by Gallup gives a detailed vision of the evolution of religious attendance in the United States. Although religious practice continues being important for a significant part of the population, the tendencies indicate a general decrease in regular attendance of religious services in the country. The data is essential to understand the religious panorama in constant change in the United States and its implications for the future.

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***

Christ is alive and he wants you to be alive! This certainty always makes my heart overflow with joy, and now it inspires me to write you this Message, five years after the publication of the Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit, the fruit of the Assembly of the Synod of Bishops that had as its theme: “Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment”.

Above all, I would like my words to be a source of renewed hope for you. In today’s world, marked by so many conflicts and so much suffering, I suspect that many of you feel disheartened. So together with you, I would like to set out from the proclamation that is the basis of our hope and that of all humanity: “Christ is alive!”

I repeat this to each of you individually: Christ is alive and he loves you with an infinite love. His love for you is unaffected by your failings or your mistakes. He gave his life for you, so in his love for you he does not wait for you to be perfect. Look at his arms outstretched on the cross, and “let yourself be saved over and over again”. [1] Walk with him as with a friend, welcome him into your life and let him share all the joys and hopes, the problems and struggles of this time in your lives. You will see that the path ahead will become clearer and that your difficulties will be much less burdensome, because he will be carrying them with you. So pray daily to the Holy Spirit who “draws you ever more deeply into the heart of Christ, so that you can grow in his love, his life and his power”. [2]

How greatly I want this proclamation to reach every one of you, for you to accept it as living and true in your own lives, and feel the desire to share it with your friends! For you have received a great mission: to bear witness before everyone to the joy born of friendship with Christ.

At the beginning of my Pontificate, at the World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, I urged you to make your voices heard! Hagan lio! Make a mess!  Today, once again, I ask you: make your voices heard! Proclaim, not so much in words but by your life and your heart, the truth that Christ is alive! And in this way, help the whole Church to get up and set out ever anew to bring his message to the entire world.

On 14 April 2024, we will mark the fortieth anniversary of the first great gathering of young people that, in the midst of the Holy Year of the Redemption, was the seed of the future World Youth Days. In 1984, at the end of that Jubilee Year, Saint John Paul II consigned the WYD Cross to young people and gave them the mission of carrying it to the entire world as a sign and reminder that in Jesus alone, crucified and risen, do we find salvation and redemption. As you know very well, that was a plain wooden cross, not a crucifix, precisely in order to remind us that it celebrates the victory of the Resurrection, the triumph of life over death. To everyone, it says: “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen” ( Lk 24:5). See Jesus in this same way: as alive and overflowing with joy, the victor over death, a friend who loves you and wants to live in you. [3]

Only in this way, in the light of his presence, will your memory of the past prove fruitful, you will find courage in the present and be prepared to face the future with hope. You will find the freedom you need to carry forward the history of your families, your grandparents, your parents, and the religious traditions of your countries, and to be in turn the leaders of tomorrow, “artisans” of the future.

The Exhortation Christus Vivit is the fruit of a Church that wants to move forward together by listening, dialogue and constant discernment of the Lord’s will. That is why more than five years ago, in preparation for the Synod on young people, many of you, from various parts of the world, were asked to share your own hopes and expectations. Hundreds of young people came to Rome and worked together for several days, collecting ideas to present to the Synod. Thanks to their work, the Bishops were able to come to a broader and deeper vision of our world and the Church. It was a genuine “synodal experience”; it bore great fruit and prepared the way for a new Synod, which we are celebrating now, in these years, precisely on the subject of synodality. As we read in the Final Document of the 2018 Synod, “the participation of the young helped to ‘reawaken’ synodality, which is a ‘constitutive element of the Church’”. [4] Now, at this new stage in our ecclesial journey, we need more than ever to draw upon your creativity in order to explore new paths, always in fidelity to our roots.

Dear young people, you are the living hope of a Church on the move! For this reason, I thank you for your presence and for your contribution to the life of the Body of Christ. And I encourage you never to leave us without your good way of “making a mess”, your drive, like that of a clean and well-tuned engine, and your own particular way of living and proclaiming the joy of the risen Jesus! This is my prayer; and I ask you, please, to pray for me.

Rome, Saint John Lateran, 25 March 2024,

Monday of Holy Week.

FRANCIS

[1] Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit, 123.

[2]  Ibid., 130.

[3] Cf. Ibid., 126.

[4] SYNOD OF BISHOPS, XV ORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY, Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment, Final Document, 121.

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***

Each year, the World Day of Prayer for Vocations invites us to reflect on the precious gift of the Lord’s call to each of us, as members of his faithful pilgrim people, to participate in his loving plan and to embody the beauty of the Gospel in different states of life. Hearing that divine call, which is far from being an imposed duty – even in the name of a religious ideal – is the surest way for us to fulfil our deepest desire for happiness. Our life finds fulfilment when we discover who we are, what our gifts are, where we can make them bear fruit, and what path we can follow in order to become signs and instruments of love, generous acceptance, beauty and peace, wherever we find ourselves.

This Day, then, is always a good occasion to recall with gratitude to the Lord the faithful, persevering and frequently hidden efforts of all those who have responded to a call that embraces their entire existence. I think of mothers and fathers who do not think first of themselves or follow fleeting fads of the moment, but shape their lives through relationships marked by love and graciousness, openness to the gift of life and commitment to their children and their growth in maturity. I think of all those who carry out their work in a spirit of cooperation with others, and those who strive in various ways to build a more just world, a more solidary economy, a more equitable social policy and a more humane society. In a word, of all those men and women of good will who devote their lives to working for the common good. I think too of all those consecrated men and women who offer their lives to the Lord in the silence of prayer and in apostolic activity, sometimes on the fringes of society, tirelessly and creatively exercising their charism by serving those around them. And I think of all those who have accepted God’s call to the ordained priesthood, devoting themselves to the preaching of the Gospel, breaking open their own lives, together with the bread of the Eucharist, for their brothers and sisters, sowing seeds of hope and revealing to all the beauty of God’s kingdom.

To young people, and especially those who feel distant or uncertain about the Church, I want to say this: Let Jesus draw you to himself; bring him your important questions by reading the Gospels; let him challenge you by his presence, which always provokes in us a healthy crisis. More than anyone else, Jesus respects our freedom. He does not impose, but proposes. Make room for him and you will find the way to happiness by following him. And, should he ask it of you, by giving yourself completely to him.

A people on the move

The polyphony of diverse charisms and vocations that the Christian community recognizes and accompanies helps us to appreciate more fully what it means to be Christians. As God’s people in this world, guided by his Holy Spirit, and as living stones in the Body of Christ, we come to realize that we are members of a great family, children of the Father and brothers and sisters of one another. We are not self-enclosed islands but parts of a greater whole.  In this sense, the World Day of Prayer for Vocations has a synodal character: amid the variety of our charisms, we are called to listen to one another and to journey together in order to acknowledge them and to discern where the Spirit is leading us for the benefit of all.

At this point in time, then, our common journey is bringing us to the Jubilee Year of 2025. Let us travel as pilgrims of hope towards the Holy Year, for by discovering our own vocation and its place amid the different gifts bestowed by the Spirit, we can become for our world messengers and witnesses of Jesus’ dream of a single human family, united in God’s love and in the bond of charity, cooperation and fraternity.

This Day is dedicated in a particular way to imploring from the Father the gift of holy vocations for the building up of his Kingdom: “Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest” (Lk 10:2). Prayer – as we all know – is more about listening to God than about talking to him. The Lord speaks to our heart, and he wants to find it open, sincere and generous.  His Word became flesh in Jesus Christ, who reveals to us the entire will of the Father. In this present year, devoted to prayer and preparation for the Jubilee, all of us are called to rediscover the inestimable blessing of our ability to enter into heartfelt dialogue with the Lord and thus become pilgrims of hope. For “prayer is the first strength of hope. You pray and hope grows, it moves forward. I would say that prayer opens the door to hope. Hope is there, but by my prayer I open the door” (Catechesis, 20 May 2020).

Pilgrims of hope and builders of peace

Yet what does it mean to be pilgrims? Those who go on pilgrimage seek above all to keep their eyes fixed on the goal, to keep it always in their mind and heart. To achieve that goal, however, they need to concentrate on every step, which means travelling light, getting rid of what weighs them down, carrying only the essentials and striving daily to set aside all weariness, fear, uncertainty and hesitation. Being a pilgrim means setting out each day, beginning ever anew, rediscovering the enthusiasm and strength needed to pursue the various stages of a journey that, however tiring and difficult, always opens before our eyes new horizons and previously unknown vistas.

This is the ultimate meaning of our Christian pilgrimage: we set out on a journey to discover the love of God and at the same time to discover ourselves, thanks to an interior journey nourished by our relationships with others. We are pilgrims because we have been called: called to love God and to love one another. Our pilgrimage on this earth is far from a pointless journey or aimless wandering; on the contrary, each day, by responding to God’s call, we try to take every step needed to advance towards a new world where people can live in peace, justice and love. We are pilgrims of hope because we are pressing forward towards a better future, committed at every step to bringing it about.

This is, in the end, the goal of every vocation: to become men and women of hope. As individuals and as communities, amid the variety of charisms and ministries, all of us are called to embody and communicate the Gospel message of hope in a world marked by epochal challenges. These include the baneful spectre of a third world war fought piecemeal; the flood of migrants fleeing their homelands in search of a better future; the burgeoning numbers of the poor; the threat of irreversibly compromising the health of our planet. To say nothing of all the difficulties we encounter each day, which at times risk plunging us into resignation or defeatism.

In our day, then, it is decisive that we Christians cultivate a gaze full of hope and work fruitfully in response to the vocation we have received, in service to God’s kingdom of love, justice and peace. This hope – Saint Paul tells us – “does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5), since it is born of the Lord’s promise that he will remain always with us and include us in the work of redemption that he wants to accomplish in the heart of each individual and in the “heart” of all creation. This hope finds its propulsive force in Christ’s resurrection, which “contains a vital power which has permeated this world.  Where all seems to be dead, signs of the resurrection suddenly spring up. It is an irresistible force. Often it seems that God does not exist: all around us, we see persistent injustice, evil, indifference and cruelty. But it is also true that in the midst of darkness something new always springs to life and sooner or later produces fruit” (Evangelii Gaudium, 276). Again, the Apostle Paul tells us that, “in hope we were saved” (Rom 8:24). The redemption accomplished in the paschal mystery is a source of hope, a sure and trustworthy hope, thanks to which we can face the challenges of the present.

To be pilgrims of hope and builders of peace, then, means to base our lives on the rock of Christ’s resurrection, knowing that every effort made in the vocation that we have embraced and seek to live out, will never be in vain.  Failures and obstacles may arise along the way, but the seeds of goodness we sow are quietly growing and nothing can separate us from the final goal: our encounter with Christ and the joy of living for eternity in fraternal love. This ultimate calling is one that we must anticipate daily: even now our loving relationship with God and our brothers and sisters is beginning to bring about God’s dream of unity, peace and fraternity. May no one feel excluded from this calling! Each of us in our own small way, in our particular state of life, can, with the help of the Spirit, be a sower of seeds of hope and peace.

The courage to commit

In this light, I would say once more, as I did at World Youth Day in Lisbon: “Rise up!” Let us awaken from sleep, let us leave indifference behind, let us open the doors of the prison in which we so often enclose ourselves, so that each of us can discover his or her proper vocation in the Church and in the world, and become a pilgrim of hope and a builder of peace! Let us be passionate about life, and commit ourselves to caring lovingly for those around us, in every place where we live. Let me say it again: “Have the courage to commit!” Father Oreste Benzi, a tireless apostle of charity, ever on the side of the poor and the defenseless, used to say that no one is so poor as to have nothing to give, and no one is so rich as not to need something to receive.

Let us rise up, then, and set out as pilgrims of hope, so that, as Mary was for Elizabeth, we too can be messengers of joy, sources of new life and artisans of fraternity and peace.

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“The American Values Atrlas Survey carried out the annual survey in the United States of 22,000 people between August and September of 2023, on the tendencies in demographic, religious and cultural changes, especially on the so-called rights of the LGBTQ group.

According to NBC News, which commented on the survey, one out of every four “generation Z” adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual or queer, much higher than the percentages of older Americans.

22% of young people in the United States between 18 and 29 years of age identify with the LGBTQ ideology as do  58% of residents in the United States, who consider themselves liberals or relate to the Democratic Party. It is relevant that the majority of Americans considered to be LGBTQ have no religious affiliation: 35% say they are Christians and 5% are non-Christian believers.

According to the PRRI Report, these adults of generation Z, make up 10% of all the country’s adults, made up of 16% of millennials, 7% of generation X, 4% of baby boomers and 4% of the silent generation.

The great majority of Americans agree that LGBTQ people should be protected against discrimination, although there is a drop in the support of this way of life. The Republicans decreased their support from 66% to 59%, as have young people from 18  to 29 years of age. In 2020, 83% of Americans seconded non-discrimination legislation; in 2023, 75%.

The backing of “homosexual marriage” also dropped. In 2022, 75% of Hispanic Catholics supported it; in 2023, 68%.

The number of young Americans that support gay unions also decreased: from 79% in 2018, to 71% in the latest survey.

The results coincide with those of other surveys, such as Gallup’s, published in February of last year, which showed generation Z as more permissive. According to Gallup’s data, 7.2% of adults identified with an LGBT tendency, those considered adults in the survey were between 19 to 26 years of age

The decrease in support of LGBTQ postulates goes with an increase in the backing of religious freedom and freedom of conscience in the work environment. The survey shows that 60% of Americans are opposed to a businessman denying homosexuals taking part in their business, even if their religious beliefs back it. In 2022 the percentage of those opposed was 65%.

The Report also shows that the percentage of Americans that support laws against discrimination of homosexuals and transgenders, has dropped from 80% in 2022 to 76% in 2023.

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IFS’s mission is to strengthen marriage and family life, promoting children’s wellbeing through research and public education. In her research with Gallup agency, published in February 2024, the relationship is analyzed between marriage and the wellbeing of American adults. The results were published in the study, directed by Jonathan Rothwell, entitled “Married People Are Living Their Best Lives.”

Specialist Lyman Stone pointed out a fact: “For instance, at present about 60% of 35-year-old men have ever been married, as opposed to 90% in 1980. This tendency also suggests that that a growing proportion of Americans will not marry in their healthiest years.”

Other data indicates that only 20% of 25-year-old women and 23% of 25-year-old men have ever been married. Stone recalls  that “in 1967, about 85% of 25-year-old women were ever married, as were 75% of 25-year-old men.” It was the period of the highest average of marriages. Previously, data for 1920, for instance, showed that only 70% of 25-year-old women and 50% of 25-year-old men had ever been married.

Stone said that many analysts believe that the present decline in marriages stems from delaying the wedding. “Although there is some truth in this, the situation is also extreme in older ages.”

The consequences for American society are notorious. “It points out that the long-term diminution of fertility is difficult to foresee, given that marriage is an important factor, which determines the behaviour of fertility. These tendencies can also give place to a great quantity of adverse results as people get older, including an increase in loneliness and isolation.”

The commentator also pointed out that “the benefits of marriage for individuals and society are considerable and, hence, so are the costs of failing in marriage.

Stone added, with a certain irony, “There is no reason to believe that we are entering in a period of chastity or celibacy that increases dramatically, so the decrease in marriage is obviously worrying for Churches, as it suggests that a greater proportion of people in our society  will be faced with life experiences that may not fit well with the teachings of the Church.”

He says that Churches can do something in face of the decline of marriage: “Speak with clarity.” He also suggests that it’s timely “to establish programs: Church leaders must exhort people, without ambiguities, to seek marriage if they are not seeking to live actively the vocation to celibacy.”

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The  situation broke out violently when the pro-life group  attempted to hold their first meeting. The boos and attacks started before the opening act of the recently created Pro-Life Society of Manchester and 250 people surrounded the building  of the meeting.

The group has been checked since its creation in January as it intends to promote “respect for the dignity of human life from conception,” it states on its Instagram page. The student group organized the talk and were harassed when accessing the building. Eggs were hurled at the windows as well as a torrents of insults and threats, Right to Life UK reported.

The police enabled the pro-life students to enter the building as the intimidation intensified. As they left the conference, the students passed through the protesters retained by the police to the tune of songs  of “What a disgrace! What a disgrace! What a disgrace.” They were spat on, threatened physically and said to one student that they would “rape” her. Jacob, treasurer of the Manchester Pro-Life Society, said to the Catholic Herald: ”had the police and security not been there, people would have been physically hurt.”

A 22-year-old woman in advanced pregnancy was escorted to her home in a police van for her safety. “I really thought our lives were risking danger,” said Maisie, a former student of the University. “We were some 30 and they were 300. The majority had their face covered.”

The pro-life group said its objective is “to create a pro-life culture on the campus and support the dignity of human life from conception.”

“From the legal point of view, it’s not possible to hinder a Society from affiliating itself because of its legal points of view that are opposed to those of other students,” said the spokesman of the Students’ Union. “This means that, despite the concern for students’ security, the Students’ Union cannot hinder a Society from being formed because of its beliefs.”

“The Students’ Union must be a place that supports the rights and wellbeing of all the students, instead of backing Societies that intend to abolish these rights,” said the Students’ Union after getting 19,000 signatures of University of Manchester students that were asking for the group’s dissolution, adding themselves to the “now prevailing stigma” around abortion. “The Students’ Union must be a place that supports the rights and wellbeing of all students instead of backing Societies that intend to abolish these rights,” it reiterated.

Lorcán Price, legal adviser of the UK Alliance Defending Freedom demanded that the University of Manchester and the Students’ Union protect the rights of all students. “Universities, everywhere, should be where everyone can learn, debate, challenge and discuss ideas that are important for us. The Students’ Union has the duty  to watch over the students to guarantee the protection of their right to freedom of expression. The debate is always welcome. To try to silence someone’s beliefs through threats of violence is unacceptable behaviour in British society.”

The Right to Life UK charity organization, which works in abortion situations, reported that, since 2017, student representation groups in the Universities of Aberdeen, Glasgow, Nottingham and Strathclyde have tried to impede pro-life student groups from affiliating to their Unions and benefitting from the same privileges  available to any other student group.

All Students’ Unions of these Universities revoked the decision when the pro-life group threatened legal action. Birmingham University students also had considerable difficulties in affiliating themselves to the University, but were able to do so despite strong opposition.

A woman student of Obstetrics of Nottingham University was suspended in 2019 and faced expulsion from her course because a professor undervalued her role in the University’s pro-life group. A decision at the end of 2020, closed the case formally and the University apologized to the student, offering her compensation for her “unjust suspension,” reported Right to Life UK.

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Britain: A pro-life group left the University of Manchester under a torrent of insults. Defending the unborn is biblical and good.

Christian: prepare your heart, mind & family to weather being hated for your faith.

Christ endured rage. May we brace one another to do likewise. pic.twitter.com/PZnUb6X8e2

— Christian Emergency Alliance (@ChristianEmerg1) March 1, 2024

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