VATICAN CITY, 1 MAR 2008 (VIS) - A prayer vigil was held in the Paul VI Hall at 5 p.m. today for the occasion of the sixth European Day for Universities. The initiative has been being promoted by the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE) and the vicariate of Rome's office for pastoral care in universities on the theme: "Europe and the Americas together to build a civilisation of love".
During the gathering there were satellite linkups with university students in the cities of Naples, Italy; Bucharest, Romania; Toledo, Spain; Avignon, France; Minsk, Belarus; Washington DC, U.S.A.; Mexico City, Mexico; Havana, Cuba, Aparecida, Brazil, and Loja, Ecuador.
At 6 p.m. the Holy Father arrived to pray the Rosary. He then extended greetings in various languages, both to the young people present in the Paul VI Hall and to those following events from the European and American cities.
"Christianity", said the Pope, "is a profound and powerful link between the so-called old continent and what has been called the 'new world'". In this context he recalled "the fundamental position that Holy Scripture and Christian liturgy occupy in the culture and art of European and American peoples.
"Unfortunately", he added, "so-called 'western civilisation' has also partly betrayed its Gospel inspiration. What is needed, then, is an honest and sincere reflection, an examination of conscience. It is necessary to discern between what serves to build the 'civilisation of love' according to the design that God revealed in Jesus Christ, and what runs counter to it".
Addressing young Europeans and Americans, Benedict XVI said: "God calls you to co-operate, alongside your peers all over the world, so that the lifeblood of the Gospel may renew the civilisation of these two continents and of humanity entire.
"The great European and American cities are becoming more and more cosmopolitan, but they often lack this lifeblood, which is capable of ensuring that differences do not become the cause of division and conflict but of mutual enrichment.
"The civilisation of love", said the Pope, "is 'conviviality', in other words a respectful and peaceful coexistence that finds joy in its differences in the name of a shared vision which the Blessed Pope John XXIII founded on the four columns of love, truth, freedom and justice".
He went on: "This, dear friends, is the duty I consign to you today: be disciples of and witnesses to the Gospel, because the Gospel is the good seed of the Kingdom of God, in other words the civilisation of love! Be builders of peace and of unity!"
The Holy Father concluded his remarks by identifying one "sign of this Catholic unity" in the initiative of giving each of the students present a CD copy of his recent Encyclical "Spe salvi" in five languages.
AC/EUROPEAN DAY UNIVERSITIES/... VIS 20080303 (480)
During the gathering there were satellite linkups with university students in the cities of Naples, Italy; Bucharest, Romania; Toledo, Spain; Avignon, France; Minsk, Belarus; Washington DC, U.S.A.; Mexico City, Mexico; Havana, Cuba, Aparecida, Brazil, and Loja, Ecuador.
At 6 p.m. the Holy Father arrived to pray the Rosary. He then extended greetings in various languages, both to the young people present in the Paul VI Hall and to those following events from the European and American cities.
"Christianity", said the Pope, "is a profound and powerful link between the so-called old continent and what has been called the 'new world'". In this context he recalled "the fundamental position that Holy Scripture and Christian liturgy occupy in the culture and art of European and American peoples.
"Unfortunately", he added, "so-called 'western civilisation' has also partly betrayed its Gospel inspiration. What is needed, then, is an honest and sincere reflection, an examination of conscience. It is necessary to discern between what serves to build the 'civilisation of love' according to the design that God revealed in Jesus Christ, and what runs counter to it".
Addressing young Europeans and Americans, Benedict XVI said: "God calls you to co-operate, alongside your peers all over the world, so that the lifeblood of the Gospel may renew the civilisation of these two continents and of humanity entire.
"The great European and American cities are becoming more and more cosmopolitan, but they often lack this lifeblood, which is capable of ensuring that differences do not become the cause of division and conflict but of mutual enrichment.
"The civilisation of love", said the Pope, "is 'conviviality', in other words a respectful and peaceful coexistence that finds joy in its differences in the name of a shared vision which the Blessed Pope John XXIII founded on the four columns of love, truth, freedom and justice".
He went on: "This, dear friends, is the duty I consign to you today: be disciples of and witnesses to the Gospel, because the Gospel is the good seed of the Kingdom of God, in other words the civilisation of love! Be builders of peace and of unity!"
The Holy Father concluded his remarks by identifying one "sign of this Catholic unity" in the initiative of giving each of the students present a CD copy of his recent Encyclical "Spe salvi" in five languages.
AC/EUROPEAN DAY UNIVERSITIES/... VIS 20080303 (480)
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