Dhaka, Bangladesh, Dec 2, 2017 / 03:34 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Speaking to youth in Bangladesh, Pope Francis said he is always rejuvenated by young people, and encouraged them to never lose their sense of enthusiasm and adventure for life, even when things are hard.
He also stressed the importance of clinging to God and his wisdom, using it as a guide to help them avoid the world’s false promises, and to go out of themselves in order to grow in faith and solidarity.
“There is something unique about young people: you are always full of enthusiasm, and I feel rejuvenated whenever I meet with you,” the Pope said Dec. 2.
In his prepared remarks, Francis said this youthful enthusiasm “is linked to a spirit of adventure,”and pointed to Bangladeshi poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, who called the nation’s youth “fearless.”
Young people, he said, “are always ready to move forward, to make things happen and to take risks. I encourage you to keep moving with this enthusiasm in the good times and the bad times.”
No matter what, he told them to “keep moving, especially in those moments when you feel weighed down by problems and sadness, and when you look out and God seems to be nowhere on the horizon.”
However, he also stressed the importance of making sure they are moving forward on the right path, which means “journeying” through life, rather than “wandering aimlessly.”
“Our life is not without direction, it has a purpose given to us by God. He guides and directs us with his grace,” the Pope said, explaining that this direction is like “a computer software” God has placed within us that “helps us to discern his divine program and, in freedom, to respond.”
But like all software, this too “needs constantly to be updated,” he said, and told the youths to “keep updating your program, by listening to God and accepting the challenge of doing his will.”
Pop Francis spoke to youth in Dhaka on the last day of his Nov. 27-30 visit to south Asia, which included stops in both Burma and Bangladesh.
His visit to both countries concluded with meetings with youth, which is a decision Vatican spokesman Greg Burke previously said the Pope made intentionally in order to show that they are an essential part of the Church, and that in each country, it is “a young Church with hope.”
Before arriving to Notre Dame College for his encounter with the youth of Bangladesh, the Pope visited the Missionaries of Charity’s “Mother Teresa House” for orphans and disabled people, and had an audience with the country’s priests and religious.
Dhaka’s Notre Dame college was founded in 1949 by the Congregation of the Holy Cross, and in 1954 it was opened to students from all religious confessions.
When he arrived Pope Francis was greeted by Bishop Gervas Rozario, Vice President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Bangladesh. He then listened to two testimonies from young people, the first being student Upasana Ruth Gomez, who spoke about the struggle to stay hopeful in the face of oppression and injustice. The second testimony was from Anthony Toranga Nokrek, who spoke about the need to stay focused in order to be open to and welcome God’s message to them.
In his speech, Pope Francis pointed to how Anthony had said that youth are now “growing up in a fragile world that cries out for wisdom.”
This word, he said, is key, because “once you move from ‘journeying’ to ‘wandering aimlessly,’ all wisdom is lost! The one thing that directs and guides us on to the right path is wisdom, the wisdom born of faith.”
Francis stressed that this “is not the false wisdom of this world,” and to attain it, “we have to look at the world, our situations, our problems, everything, with the eyes of God.”
When we look at the world with the eyes and wisdom of God, we are also able to recognize and reject the false forms of happiness the world offers, he said, adding that “a culture that makes these false promises cannot deliver.”
“It only leads to a self-centredness that fills the heart with darkness and bitterness,” whereas the wisdom of God “helps us to know how to welcome and accept those who act and think differently than ourselves.”
Pope Francis said it’s sad when we start to “shut ourselves up in our little world and become inward-looking,” living by the “my way or the highway” principle.
By doing this, “we become trapped, self-enclosed,” he said, explaining that when an entire people, religion or society does this, turning into “a little world,” they lose the best part of themselves and “plunge into a self-righteous mentality of ‘I am good and you are bad.’”
God’s wisdom, however, “opens us up to others. It helps us to look beyond our personal comforts and the false securities which blind us to those grand ideals which make life more beautiful and worthwhile.”
The Pope then noted how the crowd wasn’t just made up of Catholics, but that many Muslims and youth from other religions were also present. This fact, he said, is a visible sign of their determination “to foster an environment of harmony, of reaching out to others, regardless of your religious differences.”
He recalled an experience working with students in Buenos Aires who were building rooms for a new parish in a poor neighborhood. They all came from different backgrounds and held different beliefs, but, “they were all working for the common good.”
Despite their different backgrounds, these students “were open to social friendship and were determined to say no to anything that would detract from their ability to come together and to help one another.”
As he often does, the Pope then emphasized the importance of interacting with the elderly, who he said help us “to appreciate the continuity of generations.”
Elderly, he said, have the wisdom to help us avoid repeating past mistakes, and have the “charism of bridging the gap,” meaning they are sure to pass on the most important values to their children and grandchildren.
Francis said the elderly also help us to realize that history didn’t begin with us, and that we are part of something much bigger than we are, so “keep talking to your parents and grandparents. Do not spend the whole day playing with your phone and ignoring the world around you!”
He closed his speech noting how both Anthony and Upasana had ended their testimonies with an expression of hope for the future.
The wisdom of God “reinforces the hope in us and helps us to face the future with courage,” he said, noting that Christians find this wisdom in a personal encounter with Jesus in prayer, in the sacraments, and in service to the poor, sick, suffering and abandoned.
“In Jesus we discover the solidarity of God, who constantly walks by our side,” he said, and told the youth that he is “filled with joy and hope” when he looks at their faces.
He prayed that God’s wisdom would “continue to inspire your efforts to grow in love, fraternity and goodness,” and voiced his hope that they would continue to grow in love of God and neighbor, telling them “please, do not forget to pray for me!”
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I applaud Pope Francis for the public stand that he is taking in this grave threat to humanity. As both head of a state and the Church, this is his duty. Many good things that he does are overlooked by too many Catholics. His job is not an easy one and he IS an old man. Let his critics try to do as much he does when they reach that age. Thank you Pope Francis.
Well it seems Pope Francis is seriously worried about this danger and has sought advice going back to 2020. He is absolutely right to be worried. Unfortunately neither he nor his technical advisors have any real idea how to do stop it. The best they could do was to produce an AI code of ethics which the Holy Father is trying to get AI developers to sign. I did notice that Microsoft had previously signed up so it is relevant to report on my experience with their version. Among other things I am a former army officer with a degree in history ,the latter being a lifelong interest not something to make a living with. I came up with a little test in which their AI was asked how well the US Army performed at the Kasserine Pass in World War II. It gave the usual civilian academic (or movie producer’s)line that their performance was awful. I that amended the question to include Rommel’s opinion and kept probing. It got nasty and replied in capital letters that Rommel later concurred. This was a lie. It was not until after the war that General Rommel’s field journals were discovered and published in 1954. Rommel’s real opinion was that the Americans at all levels had performed superbly and that Germany’s new foe was a not to be underestimated. The covering force had to be spread thinly over a broad front yet had to manintain contact which always producs massive casualties. If the Ai had admitted to inadequate information and had behaved itself I would not have minded.It has been said that at all costs an AI must not lie.
When you’re signing any deal with the academy of life and Pagalin there, one can only reply in the classic terminology: HERE BE DRAGONS! AI will be the Pandora’s box that never remains shut! For Pete’s sake remember Terminator????
Is being a Luddite a dictum of the Catholic faith? There is nothing unethical about AI. This is fear mongering. Plain and simple.
Leon Musk is neither a luddite nor a Catholic but he made this a global concern a year or two back by proposing a worldwide slowdown in AI development to study how to mitigate the risk; all in vain I might add. He was the one who said that the best defense was to never program an AI where it ever lie. I don’t think microsoft deliberately taught theirs to lie but the fact is that it failed the truth test I gave it. It may have simply observed deception being used in the millions of files it had occasion to access or it might have figured it out on its own. I am not happy with either case. Copilot, which is what microsoft calls it now, still acts very strangely sometimes –too many sometimes to suit me. I have read a few articles which polled specialists in the computer programing and design about the issue. I tried to get Copilot to help me find them again. It gave me lots of information but nothing that I specifically asked for. Fortunately I remember the trend of the latest one if not all details. The higher in the profession the poll asked the more pessimistic the opinion was. There are top of the profession guys working for independent organizations specializing in how to prevent rogue AIs from happening .They were the extreme pessimists. Leon Musk I recall was an optimist, surprisingly, he thought that the risk of AI doomsday was only 20%.