LISBON – In the opening salvo of a five-day trip to Portugal, Pope Francis repeated his condemnations of populism and the inequalities of market capitalism, reiterating his main concerns regarding Europe, including migration, a declining birth rate, and growing polarisation.
In that context, the pope said he believes World Youth Day represents hope for the future and a desire on the part of future generations to write a different story together based on pluralism and respect for life.
“At a time when we are witnessing on many sides a climate of protest and unrest, a fertile terrain for forms of populism and conspiracy theories, World Youth Day represents a chance to build together,” he said, saying the event “revives our desire to accomplish something new and different, to put out into the deep and to set sail together towards the future”.
