The Pope receives "commitment" social (and not only praying) from half a million young Madrilenians

MadridIn addition to praying, one must work. In a subtle way and in front of a massive participation of half a million young people at the vigil – according to the Spanish government delegation – Pope Leo XIV addressed this message to the gathered boys and girls in Madrid this Saturday.

He conveyed it to them after they had recited the rosary and listened to music groups and testimonies. It is a concern that has been perceived for some time in the Catholic Church, precisely in one of the booming phenomena such as Eucharistic adorations, which this Saturday coincided with Corpus Christi. Therefore, he asked for social "commitment", that is, "not appearances, but reliable faces". In addition to the youth, there were also about a hundred bishops with their solidé, such as Joan Josep Omella and the rest of the Catalans, who heard the pontiff being cheered as if he were in a football stadium.

"In the face of the emptiness of indifference and nonconformity, in the face of the violence of war and lies, be yourselves sparks of a new humanity," he defended, taking advantage of this festival of Catholic self-affirmation and responding to the questions of some young Madrilenians selected by the Church. As Pope Francis or Pere Casaldàliga, the bishop of the poor and exponent of liberation theology, would also say, he issued an order: "Be human".

He also asked them to be "people who seek justice because they are hungry for it, like for daily bread", to be "missionaries of the Gospel in the face of the material and spiritual poverty of our time". Because faith "is a way of life that is fulfilled in charity". And this means "acts of charity, where faith comes alive", among other things. He also asked to "seek truth" in the face of manipulation on social networks and "ideologies".

If Pope Leo XIV has started the day with Diversity

Who was at the youth gathering in Madrid? From the frank plea for "Christian Spain" to young people who proclaim their Catholic faith to the four winds, who wear it on t-shirts that spread and sell the belief in God or with propaganda organizations. But also the parish mobilization, by the Jesuits, with identifying bluish t-shirts, very diverse communities.

Also Regnum Christi – founded by the pederast Marcial Maciel and not yet dissolved despite this indelible original stain–. And rows of people with Spanish flags, some with the Sacred Heart of Jesus – a banner closely linked to Carlism–, others Vatican or territorial, such as one from Navarre with dozens of young people accompanied by a priest, another from Valencia from a group that cannot recall much or anything of the catastrophic visit of 2006 because many were not born or were too young.

Young people with bracelets with the Spanish flag and others who have stories of recovery of faith or conversion. An occasion that the organization has taken advantage of to preach Spanish nationalism: in Plaza de Lima, the presenters who preceded Leo XIV, the Catalan Enric Chenoll and the Madrilenian Grilex said that what unites everyone is their Spanish identity. "I am Spanish, Spanish, Spanish," they sang.

Among those present were many Madrilenians who know each other from their parish or religious group, and also families. It is not the trend of youth in general, it is a trend in Catholic youth that intensifies practice in the spiritual aspect, but which is becoming increasingly visible.

There are young people who meet at the parish one day a week to adore the consecrated host and then go out for a drink. A phenomenon that did not exist a decade ago and is now growing, whether it is Hakuna, founded by a priest from Opus Dei, or retreats like Effetà and other spiritual experiences. Or who sing Catholic songs by groups like Siloé and who have felt great emotion in meeting the pontiff. But the Pope asks that after this they also help the poor, that they fight against injustices.

Social message

If Pope Leo XIV began the day with a strong speech for "reconciliation" and against xenophobic

"walls"

, before the meeting with young people, he still visited Cedia, at Cáritas of Madrid, in the Carabanchel neighborhood. He observed the treatment of poverty and once again marked a social profile. Although two civil guards warned the press that the neighborhood was very complicated and to watch their wallets, the Holy Father focused on inequalities and insisted on criticism against savage capitalism, as Francis already said.

Alongside the poorest and praising the work with them, he raised his voice saying that "Christians, on many occasions, let themselves be contaminated by attitudes marked by worldly ideologies or by political and economic positions that lead to unjust generalizations and misleading conclusions." The pontiff did not only come to Madrid to do public relations and entertain the youth, but he is also taking sides with the vulnerable and against what he has on multiple occasions called "clutches of tyrants" who destroy the world.

Leo XIV insisted on an argument against predatory capitalism as Pope Francis had already done and which was included in his latest apostolic exhortation,

Dilexi te: "The fact that the exercise of charity is despised or ridiculed, as if it were the fixation of some and not the incandescent core of the ecclesial mission, makes me think that we need to re-read the Gospel so as not to run the risk of replacing it with a worldly mentality," he said again.