In their open letter to young people, the Synod Fathers wrote: “We are familiar with your inner searching, the joys and hopes, the pain and anguish that make up your longings. Now we want you to hear a word from us: we wish to be sharers in your joy, so that your expectations may come to life. …

“Our weaknesses should not deter you; our frailties and sins must not be an obstacle for your trust. The Church is your mother; she does not abandon you; she is ready to accompany you on new roads, on higher paths where the winds of the Spirit blow stronger – sweeping away the mists of indifference, superficiality and discouragement.

“When the world that God so loved, that He gave us his only son, Jesus, is focused on material things, on short-term successes, on pleasures, and when the world crushes the weakest, you must help it to rise up again and to turn its gaze towards love, beauty, truth and justice once more.”

Journalism is a mission, not a job

In an address to the director of the information agency of the Italian Episcopal Conference, SIR, Pope Francis said: “Give a voice to those who have no voice. Shine your lights on all the peripheries. Take responsibility for com­municating with the stories you tell. Become more passionate about the truth. Be custodians of the news.

“In today’s world [the journalist’s] is, in every sense, not just a job; it is a mission. Amid feeding frenzies and the mad rush for a scoop, they must remember that the heart of information is not the speed with which it is reported or its audience impact, but persons. Informing others means forming others; it means being in touch with people’s lives.”

Major challenge… global response

Archbishop Bernardito Auza Apostolic Nuncio, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to UN, said in a statement: “The global rise in sea level is thus a major challenge which requires a global response.

“An ethical approach to the challenges posed by sea level rise must also respect the rights and needs of future generations.

“As Pope Francis reminds us, ‘intergenerational solidarity is not optional, but rather a basic question of justice, since the world we have received also belongs to those who will follow us’.

“While care for our common home benefits us, it is also a gift to future generations, sparing them from paying the price of environmental deterioration and ensuring that they are able to enjoy its beauty, wonder and manifold endowment.”

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)

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