Vatican City, 21 September 2015 (VIS) –
After Vespers, the Pope transferred to the “Centro de Estudio Padre
Felix Varela”, the Felix Varela Cultural Centre, adjacent to the
cathedral, to meet with the young people of Cuba. The Centre is
dedicated to the Servant of God Felix Varela (1788-1853), considered
to be the “father of Cuban culture”. The priest, whose cause for
beatification is underway, taught for ten years at the San Carlos
college and seminary, making a significant contribution to the
progress of sciences and letters on the island. In 1821 he was
elected as the representative of Cuba before the Spanish court, where
he appealed for the liberation of black slaves. In 1823, following
the reestablishment of absolutism in Spain under Ferdinand VII, he
transferred to the United States where he proclaimed Cuba's right to
independence and exercised his pastoral ministry for thirty years,
founding schools, building churches and evangelising among the
marginalised.
The Centre is a lay institute, in
operation since 2011, coordinated by the Pontifical Council for
Culture. It comprises a centre for ecclesiastical studies, also
offering courses in philosophy, psychology, and a master's degree
entitled Cuba-Emprende, aimed at supporting private enterprise
initiatives in favour of economic change in the country. It also
hosts concerts, conferences and other events, and promotes the
Festival of Latin American Cinema.
The Pope expressed his joy at being in
the company of the young in a centre so important to Cuban history,
and after receiving greetings, he set aside his written discourse,
and spoke informally with those present. Extensive extracts from the
prepared text are published below:
“ … When I look at all of you, the
first thing that comes into my mind and heart, too, is the word
'hope'. I cannot imagine a young person who is listless, without
dreams or ideals, without a longing for something greater.
“But what kind of hope does a young
Cuban have at this moment of history? Nothing more or less than that
of any other young person in any other part of the world. Because
hope speaks to us of something deeply rooted in every human heart,
independently of our concrete circumstances and historical
conditioning. Hope speaks to us of a thirst, an aspiration, a longing
for a life of fulfilment, a desire to achieve great things, things
which fill our heart and lift our spirit to lofty realities like
truth, goodness and beauty, justice and love. But it also involves
taking risks. It means being ready not to be seduced by what is
fleeting, by false promises of happiness, by immediate and selfish
pleasures, by a life of mediocrity and self-centredness, which only
fills the heart with sadness and bitterness. No, hope is bold; it can
look beyond personal convenience, the petty securities and
compensations which limit our horizon, and can open us up to grand
ideals which make life more beautiful and worthwhile. I would ask
each one of you: What is it that shapes your life? What lies deep in
your heart? Where do your hopes and aspirations lie? Are you ready to
put yourself on the line for the sake of something even greater?
“Perhaps you may say: 'Yes, Father, I
am strongly attracted to those ideals. I feel their call, their
beauty, their light shining in my heart. But I feel too weak, I am
not ready to decide to take the path of hope. The goal is lofty and
my strength is all too little. It is better to be content with small
things, less grand but more realistic, more within my reach'. I can
understand that reaction; it is normal to feel weighed down by
difficult and demanding things. But take care not to yield to the
temptation of a disenchantment which paralyses the intellect and the
will, or that apathy which is a radical form of pessimism about the
future. These attitudes end either in a flight from reality towards
vain utopias, or else in selfish isolation and a cynicism deaf to the
cry for justice, truth and humanity which rises up around us and
within us.
“But what are we to do? How do we
find paths of hope in the situations in which we live? How do we make
those hopes for fulfilment, authenticity, justice and truth, become a
reality in our personal lives, in our country and our world? I think
that there are three ideas which can help to keep our hope alive.
“Hope is a path made of memory and
discernment. Hope is the virtue which goes places. It is not simply a
path we take for the pleasure of it, but it has an end, a goal which
is practical and lights up our way. Hope is also nourished by memory;
it looks not only to the future but also to the past and present. To
keep moving forward in life, in addition to knowing where we want to
go, we also need to know who we are and where we come from.
Individuals or peoples who have no memory and erase their past risk
losing their identity and destroying their future. So we need to
remember who we are, and in what our spiritual and moral heritage
consists. This, I believe, was the experience and the insight of that
great Cuban, Father Felix Varela. Discernment is also needed, because
it is essential to be open to reality and to be able to interpret it
without fear or prejudice. Partial and ideological interpretations
are useless; they only disfigure reality by trying to fit it into our
preconceived schemas, and they always cause disappointment and
despair. We need discernment and memory, because discernment is not
blind; it is built on solid ethical and moral criteria which help us
to see what is good and just.
“Hope is a path taken with others. An
African proverb says: 'If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want
to go far, go with others'. Isolation and aloofness never generate
hope; but closeness to others and encounter do. Left to ourselves, we
will go nowhere. Nor by exclusion will we be able to build a future
for anyone, even ourselves. A path of hope calls for a culture of
encounter, dialogue, which can overcome conflict and sterile
confrontation. To create that culture, it is vital to see different
ways of thinking not in terms of risk, but of richness and growth.
The world needs this culture of encounter. It needs young people who
seek to know and love one another, to journey together in building a
country like that which José Martí dreamed of: 'With all, and for
the good of all'.
“Hope is a path of solidarity. The
culture of encounter should naturally lead to a culture of
solidarity. I was struck by what Leonardo said at the beginning, when
he spoke of solidarity as a source of strength for overcoming all
obstacles. Without solidarity, no country has a future. Beyond all
other considerations or interests, there has to be concern for that
person who may be my friend, my companion, but also someone who may
think differently than I do, someone with his own ideas yet just as
human and just as Cuban as I am. Simple tolerance is not enough; we
have to go well beyond that, passing from a suspicious and defensive
attitude to one of acceptance, cooperation, concrete service and
effective assistance. Do not be afraid of solidarity, service and
offering a helping hand, so that no one is excluded from the path.
“This path of life is lit up by a
higher hope: the hope born of our faith in Christ. He made himself
our companion along the way. Not only does He encourage us, He also
accompanies us; He is at our side and He extends a friendly hand to
us. The Son of God, He wanted to become someone like us, to accompany
us on our way. Faith in His presence, in His friendship and love,
lights up all our hopes and dreams. With Him at our side, we learn to
discern what is real, to encounter and serve others, and to walk the
path of solidarity.
“Dear young people of Cuba, if God
Himself entered our history and became flesh in Jesus, if He
shouldered our weakness and sin, then you need not be afraid of hope,
or of the future, because God is on your side. He believes in you,
and He hopes in you.
“Dear friends, thank you for this
meeting. May hope in Christ, your friend, always guide you along your
path in life. And, please, remember to pray for me. May the Lord
bless all of you”.
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