Tagle: Youths mirror strong human spirit, longing for love

By: Yuji Vincent Gonzales - 8 years ago

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle. AP File Photo

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle said the World Youth Day (WYD) celebration should remind the world of its “common humanity,” as he called young people a mirror of everyone’s fears and aspirations.

“Every World Youth Day celebration is special wherever it is held, and here in Poland so far, in the few days that I have been here, I realized that young people everywhere, they present to us a mirror of our present world,” Tagle said over Poland’s Maskacjusz TV.

“I could see how the world is very much wounded, how the world is very much afraid, how the world is very much insecure, how the world is very much confused. You see that in the youth,” he added.

Tagle is among four Filipino bishops who are currently in Poland to attend the WYD proper with more than 1,500 Filipino delegates. The celebration kicked off in Krakow on Tuesday.

However, aside from fears and insecurities, Tagle said the youth also reflects a longing for love, capacity to dream and a vision to look for a better future.

“But also in the youth, you see that human spirit remains strong… No pain can kill that. And among the youth I can see a longing for love, a longing to be accepted, a longing to give love, and isn’t that what being a human race is all about?” he said.

Tagle added that WYD celebration should inspire even those who are “no longer young” to follow the youth’s example in reinforcing their faith and loving others.

“While we call it World Youth Day, it’s not just about the youth. It’s all about our common humanity, which the young people forced us to see. And I hope that all of us, those who are no longer young, could face the world by facing and loving the youth,” the cardinal said.

The WYD was held in Manila in 1995 with Pope Saint John Paul II presiding over the celebration, dubbed one of the biggest Catholic gatherings in history. RAM/rga