BEIRUT (CNS) ─ Even in the face of difficulties and the constant threat of war, the young people of Lebanon and the country's religious leaders have enormous resources that can build a better future for all people, Pope Leo XIV said.
"The true opposition to evil is not evil, but love, a love capable of healing one's own wounds while also caring for the wounds of others," he said Dec. 1 as he met thousands of young people outside the headquarters of the Maronite Patriarchate of Antioch in Bkerké, overlooking Beirut.
Pope Leo met the 15,000 young people after meeting their elders ─ representatives of the country's Christian, Muslim, Druze and Alawite communities ─ in Beirut's Martyrs' Square, which honors those who fought for Lebanon's independence and were executed there in 1916. The martyrs came from every religious community.
At their meeting, the young people posed two questions to the pope: How to preserve one's inner peace and hope "in a country deprived of stability, whether in terms of security or economy"; and how can people keep their families, marriages and friendships solid in a world dominated by the digital and ephemeral.
Pope Leo told them to look for good examples around them.
"Draw from the good roots of those dedicated to serving society without using it for their own interests," he said. "With a generous commitment to justice, plan together for a future of peace and development. Be the source of hope that the country is waiting for!"
For Christians, the pope said, Jesus is the first person to look to for help both with peace and with relationships because both require love.
"If our ego is at the center of a friendship or loving relationship, it cannot bear fruit," he said. "Similarly, it is not true love if we only love temporarily, as long as the feeling lasts: if love has a time limit, it is not truly love."
Love and charity express God's presence in the world "more than anything else," the pope told them. "Charity speaks a universal language, because it speaks to every heart."
Pope Leo encouraged them to look at the example of their peers who have not been discouraged "by injustices and negative examples, even those found within the church. Instead, they have tried to forge new paths in search of the kingdom of God and its justice."
"Drawing on the strength you receive from Christ, build a better world than the one you inherited," he told them, and make friends with people from different cultures and religions.
"The true renewal that a young heart desires begins with everyday gestures: welcoming those near and far, offering a hand to friends and refugees and forgiving enemies -- a difficult but necessary task," Pope Leo said.
Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan welcomed the pope to the ecumenical and interreligious meeting in Martyrs' Square, telling him: "With the grace of the Almighty, the Heavenly Father, according to us Christians, and of the Almighty Allah Ta'ala, according to our Muslim brothers and sisters, we commit ourselves to walking together, always inspired by the hope that never disappoints, to become builders of true peace in Lebanon and in all the countries of the Middle East."
Pope Leo was also welcomed by leaders of the country's Sunni and Shiite Muslim communities, the spiritual leader of the Druze, the patriarchs of the Greek Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox and Armenian Orthodox churches and the president of the Evangelical Christian community.
All of those who spoke were men, but the audience included many women involved in peacemaking and dialogue.
Mireille Hamouche, a Greek Orthodox woman married to a Maronite, is part of the Women's Peacebuilding Network of Lebanon.
"I can assure you that behind the curtains and behind the scenes, the real actors and activists of peace are mainly women," she told Catholic News Service. "This has been the case throughout history because, obviously, after each war, you have more women than men left in a society," and they are the ones who must "heal a society" when the fighting is over.
In a tent in the shadow of the Mohammad Al Amin Mosque in Beirut, Pope Leo told the leaders that the central role of faith in the life of Lebanon is obvious.
"Dear friends, your presence here today, in this remarkable place where minarets and church bell towers stand side by side, yet both reach skyward, testifies to the enduring faith of this land and the steadfast devotion of its people to the one God."
The pope prayed that every toll of the bell and every call to prayer would "blend into a single, soaring hymn -- not only to glorify the merciful Creator of heaven and earth, but also to lift a heartfelt prayer for the divine gift of peace."
Too often, he said, when people think of the Middle East, they think of ongoing conflict.
"Yet," Pope Leo said, "in the midst of these struggles, a sense of hopefulness and encouragement can be found when we focus on what unites us: our common humanity, and our belief in a God of love and mercy."
"In an age when coexistence can seem like a distant dream," he said, "the people of Lebanon, while embracing different religions, stand as a powerful reminder that fear, distrust and prejudice do not have the final word, and that unity, reconciliation, and peace are possible."
Pope Leo told them that religious leaders must be "builders of peace: to confront intolerance, overcome violence, and banish exclusion, illuminating the path toward justice and concord for all, through the witness of your faith."
