I have always loved young people; during all my pastoral service, as well as now, when the Lord instructed me to lead the Church. Already on the first day of my pontificate, I said that young people are the hope of the Church. I repeat it always and at every opportunity. I am convinced that the Church of Rome, like any other Church in the world, must be built with the efforts of the young. They are a generation that the future already contains. The future is built through young people.
The young people I met gave me confidence that our world has a future. I felt this in Italy, Mexico, Poland, Ireland, the United States, the Philippines, Japan, Africa. Why do I have this impression? I have this impression due to the fact that I see so many young people who are healthy, noble and fortunately concerned about the limitations of civilization of permissiveness, waste, inequality. Even if many young people followed this civilization, following the footsteps of the natural tendency of experiencing everything in life, living on the wave of prevailing currents, then today many come back from there. Everywhere, small communities of young people are being created of people who think and pray, who have the courage to go against the current lifestyle which is destroying the human person and society.
John Paul II “The Autobiography”
Polish Publishing house – Literary Press – 2005
