Youth in Dialogue. Fraternity as a bond of peace

"Youth in Dialogue. Fraternity as a bond of peace" was the theme of the meeting that took place from March 6 to 8 in Turin, Italy, at the Arsenale della Pace (Sermig headquarters), promoted by the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue in collaboration with the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life.

About a hundred young people from different parts of the world gathered to discuss peace, disarmament, dialogue, and fraternity in these difficult and dark times.

Among the guest speakers was Dr. Gleison De Paula Souza, Secretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life.

De Paula Souza emphasized how World Youth Day (WYD), a gathering that began in 1985 at the behest of Pope John Paul II, is a concrete experience of encounter between young people and Christ and among themselves. Young people are witnesses to a new way of being in the world: the desire for meaning, peace, justice, a true laboratory of fraternity that is strengthened in WYD.

De Paula Souza: WYD is not just an event, but a message that transforms into choices for peace.

Young people, De Paula Souza continued, live pluralism on a daily basis, and dialogue is not an abstract concept for them, but a daily experience. Fraternity is a choice that asks young people to build bridges. Pope Leo XIV also repeatedly pointed out that dialogue is a journey of the heart, that religions are called to be bridges, because faith generates peace. WYD is a school of humanity, a sign that goes against the tide: the other is not a threat, but a gift. Through this experience of faith, young people bring to their daily lives the demonstration that a different world is possible. By recognizing differences and dialoguing together, fraternity is possible. “WYD,” concluded De Paula Souza, “is not just an event: it is a message. A message that tells the world that fraternity is possible. And perhaps this is precisely the task entrusted to young people today: to be a living sign of a dialogue that does not remain written on paper, but is transformed into life, into gestures, into choices of peace.”

Peace is possible when fraternity dwells in the heart

Many speakers took part in the three days of meetings. In addition to the opening address by Cardinal Roberto Repole, Archbishop of Turin, and the closing remarks by Cardinal George Koovakad, Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, there was a speech by Cardinal Americo Aguiar, Bishop of Setubal, Portugal, and former general coordinator of WYD Lisbon 2023. Aguiar recalled that fraternity is not immediate, but neither is it impossible or the desire of a few deluded people. Pope Francis, too, said Aguiar, recalled that there is room for everyone in the Church, not just for Catholics. WYD offers everyone the opportunity for fraternity, to be together, to build a better world, to share faith and joy. According to Cardinal Aguiar, it is a matter of setting up our relationships in a spirit of fraternity: peace is possible when peace and fraternity dwell in our hearts.

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Sermig (Servizio Missionario Giovani) is a volunteer organization founded in Turin in 1964 by Ernesto Olivero together with his wife Maria and a group of young people. Created with the initial goal of defeating world hunger through justice and development projects, the organization has evolved into a global solidarity movement that has carried out over 3,700 projects in 155 countries. The Arsenale della Pace (Arsenal of Peace) is the headquarters of Sermig. It is a space that was created for military purposes and, since 1983, has become a concrete laboratory of solidarity and coexistence, a clear sign that even what is created to divide can be transformed into an instrument of peace.