POPE TO YOUTH: BE SALT AND LIGHT FOR ALL WHOM YOU MEET

VATICAN CITY, MAY 5, 2002 (VIS) - Following lunch with the bishops of the Campania region in the residence of the bishop of Ischia, Pope John Paul went to Forio for a 5 p.m. encounter with young people in a square adjacent to the church of Our Lady Help of Christians.

The Pope reminded the thousands of youth gathered in the square that "'You are the salt of the earth. ... You are the light of the world' ... is the theme of the next World Youth Day. Thus the divine Teacher spoke to His disciples 2,000 years ago on the shore of Lake Galilee, and will again address the thousands of young people who will be coming from all parts of the world this summer to Toronto."

"When there was no way to guarantee that food could be preserved for a long time," he explained, "salt had the function of not only giving flavor, but it was often indispensable for guaranteeing the very possibility of access to foods. Saying 'You are the salt of the earth', the Redeemer entrusted a double mission to His disciples: to give flavor to life, showing its meaning revealed in Him, and allowing all to have access to the nourishment that comes from on high.. ... Young people of Ischia, be the salt of the earth that gives flavor and beauty to life. ... Be the salt that allows the heavenly food to be given to everyone."

"Jesus' other message to his disciples was: 'You are the light of the world'. Light has the characteristic of dispelling darkness, of warming all it reaches, of exalting forms. All this is done with the greatest speed. Being the light of the world means for Christians, especially young Christians, spreading everywhere the light that comes from on high. It means fighting darkness, both that due to evil and sin and that caused by ignorance and prejudices. Young people of Ischia, be rays of the light of Christ. ... Spread this light to all milieux, especially where Jesus is not known and loved or is even refused. ... This message should be spread with the speed of light! Don't lose any time."

At the end of the meeting with young people, the Pope went by car to Casamicciola, and then departed for Rome by helicopter.

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