One of the marks of Pope John Paul II’s papacy was his outreach to and personal relationship with young people. He was able to establish a bond with them, and he expressed his admiration for them and confidence in them.

The late pope also considered young people to be a vital part of the church, and he challenged them to be witnesses to the Gospel as part of his emphasis on evangelization. “Christ needs you to enlighten the world,” he told young people at the 1993 World Youth Day in Denver.

Evangelization also is central theme of the Pope Benedict XVI’s papacy, and so, too, is an appeal to young people. This was demonstrated during Pope Benedict’s recent trip to Brazil, where he met with some 40,000 youth at a rally in a Sao Paulo soccer stadium May 10. Like his predecessor, Pope Benedict made it clear that young people are important in the church, and he challenged them to live their faith and be witnesses in society to the Gospel.

“You, young people, are not just the future of the church and of humanity,” he told them. “You are that young man in the church and in humanity today. ... The church needs you, as young people, to manifest to the world the face of Jesus Christ, visible in the Christian community. Without this young face, the church would appear disfigured.”

Pope Benedict also challenged young people to engage in the “great mission” of evangelizing among their peers. He told them: “Be apostles to youth. Invite them to walk with you, to have the same experience of faith, hope and love; to encounter Jesus so that they may feel truly loved, accepted (and) able to realize their full potential.”

And he added: “You can be the builders of a new society if you seek to put into practice a conduct inspired by universal moral values, but also a personal commitment to a vitally important human and spiritual formation.”

In discussing what being an apostle entails, the pope asked young people several questions: “What must I do so that my life has meaning? How must I live so as to reap the full fruits of life? What must I do so that my life is not wasted?”

Jesus gives us the answers because “he alone can guarantee us eternal life, the pope said. And only Jesus “can show us the meaning of this present life and give it fullness.”

Jesus shows us the way, the pope said, in his words, “If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” But it’s not enough to know the commandments, Pope Benedict noted. “Witness is more important.”

He added: “The commandments are not imposed upon us from without; they do not diminish our freedom. On the contrary: they are strong internal incentives leading us to act in a certain way. At the heart of them we find both grace and nature, which do not allow us to stay still. We must walk. We are motivated to do something in order to fulfill our potential.”

Pope Benedict challenged youth to:

• “Be men and women who are free and responsible; make the family a center that radiates peace and joy; be promoters of life, from the beginning to its natural end; protect the elderly.”
• Build a “more just and fraternal society, fulfilling (your) duties to the state — respecting its laws; not allowing (yourselves) to be swept along by hatred and violence; seeking to be an example of Christian conduct” in professional and social relationships.

There is an “immense panorama of action in which questions of a social, economic and political nature take on particular importance, as long as they draw their inspiration from the Gospel and the social teaching of the church,” Pope Benedict told young people. He said this includes “building a more just and fraternal society, reconciled and at peace; it includes the commitment to reduce violence (and) initiatives to promote the fullness of life, the democratic order and the common good.”

What the Lord is asking, the pope said is “to open our hearts wider so that there will be room for ever more love, goodness and understanding for our brothers and sisters, and for the problems which concern not only the human community but also the effective preservation and protection of the natural environment.”

He made this appeal to young people: “Do not waste your youth. Do not seek to escape it. Live it intently. Consecrate it to the high ideals of faith and human solidarity.”