While the atmosphere of the pope’s encounter with the young people was lively, Pope Francis switched things up for his meeting with the bishops. He addressed them with a long, deep speech about the actions they must maintain during the historical period the country is currently experiencing.
He told them they are not politicians, but pastors, which is why they must speak out against injustice with liberty.
POPE FRANCIS
“Alliances with one side or the other don’t work, but rather the freedom to speak to the hearts of all. Don’t be afraid to peacefully raise your voice to remind everyone that a society that allows itself to be tempted by the illusion of drug trafficking drags itself into moral cancer; one that commercializes hell and spreads corruption everywhere and, at the same time, makes tax havens richer.”
He told them that prayer must be a key part of their lives, that they should converse amongst themselves and that they should look at the present with the eyes of the future.
POPE FRANCIS
“Don’t measure yourself to those who would’ve liked to have been nothing more than a caste of submissive civil servants to the dictatorship of the present. Don’t grow tired of building bonds through honest and brotherly dialogue, and condemning hidden agendas like a plague, please.”
He told them about the need to take care of priests, life in all of its stages and the family. However, above all, Pope Francis said that what he most wanted to convey to them was courage.
POPE FRANCIS
“I confess that I feel like it is my duty to give encouragement. I do not know how I have to tell them. I feel this duty, to convey my desire to give them encouragement.”
The pope also concluded by talking about the Amazon. He told them that “it is a decisive test for all to verify if society is able to watch over what it has received for free, and not strip it, but make it fertile.”
