In a message for the 40th World Youth Day, which will be observed in local dioceses on November 23, Pope Leo XIV told young people that there are “two two aspects of witness: our friendship with Jesus, which we receive from God as a gift, and our commitment to be builders of peace in society.”
Witness, the Pope said, “is not to be confused with ideological propaganda.” Rather “it is an authentic principle of interior transformation and social awareness.” True witnesses as always missionaries, he continued, and “with the help of the Holy Spirit, you can become missionaries of Christ in the world.”
Pope Leo went on to say that in those who pursue friendship with Christ, “there arises a way of life that bears the character of fraternity,” and draws closer to others. “The witness of fraternity and peace that friendship with Christ awakens in us casts off indifference and spiritual laziness, helping us to overcome closed-mindedness and suspicion.”