Pope Leo XIV Tells Youth Be Ambassadors of Peace with a "life of prayer and friendship with God" FULL TEXT to Scouts
Pope Leo XIV writes to French guides and scouts partaking in the “Clameurs” Rally in Jambville, France, which began on July 24 and concludes, July 28.
MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV
FOR THE GATHERING OF THE SCOUTS ET GUIDES DE FRANCE
[Jambville, July 24-28, 2025]
_________________________
Dear Scout
and Guide friends of France,
I extend my warmest greetings on the occasion of your great "Clameurs" gathering. You have decided to meet and reflect on a more just and sustainable world, echoing the cries rising from the earth. I am delighted with this wonderful initiative because you wish to be agents of change, putting Scouting at the service of climate challenges. By experiencing a powerful and collective time of games, discussions, and reflections on social and ecological issues, you wish to contribute to environmental protection and strengthen your commitment to serving the common good.
Today we are invited to listen attentively to the cry of creation. This urgency is incumbent upon all humanity, to whom God has entrusted his work. Our consciences are deeply challenged by the increasingly serious environmental damage being caused. Faced with pollution and climate change, the loss of biodiversity, the deterioration of life and social degradation, global inequalities, the lack of drinking water and access to energy for many people, ecological education is essential for all to reverse the current order.
Your encounter allows you to discern new ways and directions to safeguard your common home. You are young, full of ideas and enthusiasm. You want to conquer the world, not to subjugate it, but to serve the life that comes from God. Humility, a spirit of service, and a profound relationship with Christ allow you to root Christian values within you. Only interior conversion makes possible a change in habits and mentality, which translates into a new way of living in communion with the environment. And you, Scouts, are accustomed to living in nature, making objects, finding your way, and organizing games and vigils; this leads you to treat creation with respect. Therefore, you can offer much to society with your lifestyle.
I am convinced that these intense moments you are experiencing allow you to further enrich yourselves with values such as encountering and welcoming others in their diversity and complementarity. Dear Scouts, be ambassadors of brotherhood and peace in your own environment. You come from diverse cultural traditions and social backgrounds, you have different personalities and ages. You are in contact with adults and the elderly. This is a richness, an advantage that allows you to see things in a bigger sense and to conceive of a world at peace with the weapons of the Christian, which are faith, truth, justice, and the Gospel of peace (cf. Eph 6:11-17).
Dear friends, many of you receive the sacrament of Confirmation today, a sign of your commitment to the Church. In this sacrament, you fully receive the Holy Spirit, a divine presence that guides, enlightens, and comforts you on your journey of faith. I invite you to invoke him often to be filled with his gifts and graces.
You are now consecrated, charged with bearing witness to your faith in the world, with being agents of change and hope in society. This is the responsibility of an active disciple of Christ, committed to proclaiming the Gospel and loving others. However, all this is possible only through a life of prayer and friendship with God.
I encourage you to move forward without losing hope, without becoming discouraged, and without giving in to pessimism. Know that each of you is unique in creation, loved personally by the Lord. Never stop believing in a better world and the advent of an authentic civilization of love. As Pope Francis said, be, you too, builders of bridges between generations, cultures, and peoples.
Entrusting you to the intercession of Saint George, your patron, and to the maternal care of the Virgin Mary, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing, which I extend to your leaders and your families.
From the Vatican, July 3, 2025
Leo PP. XIV
_______________________________________________
L'Osservatore Romano , Daily Edition, Year CLXV n. 173, Monday, July 28, 2025, p. 3.
FOR THE GATHERING OF THE SCOUTS ET GUIDES DE FRANCE
[Jambville, July 24-28, 2025]
_________________________
Dear Scout
and Guide friends of France,
I extend my warmest greetings on the occasion of your great "Clameurs" gathering. You have decided to meet and reflect on a more just and sustainable world, echoing the cries rising from the earth. I am delighted with this wonderful initiative because you wish to be agents of change, putting Scouting at the service of climate challenges. By experiencing a powerful and collective time of games, discussions, and reflections on social and ecological issues, you wish to contribute to environmental protection and strengthen your commitment to serving the common good.
Today we are invited to listen attentively to the cry of creation. This urgency is incumbent upon all humanity, to whom God has entrusted his work. Our consciences are deeply challenged by the increasingly serious environmental damage being caused. Faced with pollution and climate change, the loss of biodiversity, the deterioration of life and social degradation, global inequalities, the lack of drinking water and access to energy for many people, ecological education is essential for all to reverse the current order.
Your encounter allows you to discern new ways and directions to safeguard your common home. You are young, full of ideas and enthusiasm. You want to conquer the world, not to subjugate it, but to serve the life that comes from God. Humility, a spirit of service, and a profound relationship with Christ allow you to root Christian values within you. Only interior conversion makes possible a change in habits and mentality, which translates into a new way of living in communion with the environment. And you, Scouts, are accustomed to living in nature, making objects, finding your way, and organizing games and vigils; this leads you to treat creation with respect. Therefore, you can offer much to society with your lifestyle.
I am convinced that these intense moments you are experiencing allow you to further enrich yourselves with values such as encountering and welcoming others in their diversity and complementarity. Dear Scouts, be ambassadors of brotherhood and peace in your own environment. You come from diverse cultural traditions and social backgrounds, you have different personalities and ages. You are in contact with adults and the elderly. This is a richness, an advantage that allows you to see things in a bigger sense and to conceive of a world at peace with the weapons of the Christian, which are faith, truth, justice, and the Gospel of peace (cf. Eph 6:11-17).
Dear friends, many of you receive the sacrament of Confirmation today, a sign of your commitment to the Church. In this sacrament, you fully receive the Holy Spirit, a divine presence that guides, enlightens, and comforts you on your journey of faith. I invite you to invoke him often to be filled with his gifts and graces.
You are now consecrated, charged with bearing witness to your faith in the world, with being agents of change and hope in society. This is the responsibility of an active disciple of Christ, committed to proclaiming the Gospel and loving others. However, all this is possible only through a life of prayer and friendship with God.
I encourage you to move forward without losing hope, without becoming discouraged, and without giving in to pessimism. Know that each of you is unique in creation, loved personally by the Lord. Never stop believing in a better world and the advent of an authentic civilization of love. As Pope Francis said, be, you too, builders of bridges between generations, cultures, and peoples.
Entrusting you to the intercession of Saint George, your patron, and to the maternal care of the Virgin Mary, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing, which I extend to your leaders and your families.
From the Vatican, July 3, 2025
Leo PP. XIV
_______________________________________________
L'Osservatore Romano , Daily Edition, Year CLXV n. 173, Monday, July 28, 2025, p. 3.
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