Pope Francis' prepared speech for the "Encounter with the Youth" event at the University of Santo Tomas, Sunday, January 18.
The pontiff, however, discarded most of his prepared speech that he was due to give in English, reverting back to his native Spanish to deliver an impromptu and heartfelt response, after a weeping 12-year-old girl, Glyzelle Palomar, a one-time homeless child taken in by a church charity, made her emotional plea during ceremonies, at the UST "Encounter with the Youth", ahead of a mass by Pope Francis to millions of faithful.
"Many children are abandoned by their parents. Many children get involved in drugs and prostitution," Palomar told the pope as she stood on stage alongside a 14-year-old boy who also used to be homeless.
"Why does God allow these things to happen to us? The children are not guilty of anything." Palomar broke down and wept profusely, prompting the pope to take her into his arms and hug her for a few seconds.
Palomar asking how God could allow children to become prostitutes, moved Pope Francis to hug her and appeal for everyone to show more compassion.
Pope Francis decided to deliver an impromptu homily in Spanish which was translated in English by Msgr Mark Gerard Miles.
Below is the full transcript of Pope Francis' impromptu speech, as delivered during the encounter with the youth at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila on Sunday, January 18.
(Here as translated from Spanish by Msgr Mark Gerard Miles)
Dear Young Friends,
When I speak spontaneously I do it in Spanish, because I don’t know the English language. May I do it? Thank you very much. This Fr Mark, a good translator.
First of all, a sad piece of news. Yesterday, as Mass was about to start, a piece of scaffolding fell and, upon falling, hit a young woman who was working in the area and she died. Her name is Kristel. She worked for the organization preparing for that Mass. She was 27 years old, young like yourselves. She worked for Catholic Relief Services as a volunteer. I would like all of you who are young like her to pray for a moment in silence with me and then we will pray to Our Mother in Heaven. Let us pray.
Leads prayer of Hail Mary…
Let us also pray for her parents. She was an only child. Her mother is coming from Hong Kong and her father is here in Manila.
Leads prayer of Our Father…
It is a joy for me to be with you this morning. I greet each of you from the heart, and I thank all those who made this meeting possible. During my visit to the Philippines, I wanted in a particular way to meet with young people, to listen to you and to talk with you. I want to express the love and the hopes of the Church for you. And I want to encourage you, as Christian citizens of this country, to offer yourselves passionately and honestly to the great work of renewing your society and helping to build a better world.
In a special way, I thank the young people who have offered words of welcome to me.
To Jun and Leandro Santos II and to Rikki, thank you very much. There’s only a very small representation of girls among you. Too little. Women have much to tell us in today’s society. Sometimes we are too “machistas” and we don’t allow enough space to women. But women can see things from a different angle to us, with a different eye. Women are able to pose questions we men are unable to understand. Look out for this fact: she is the only one who has put a question for which there is no answer. She couldn’t put it into words but expressed it with tears. So when the next pope comes to Manila, please let there be more girls.
I thank you Jun for talking about your experience so bravely. As I said, the heart of your question has no reply. Only when we too can cry about the things you said can we come close to answering that question. Why do children suffer so much? Why do children suffer? When the heart is able to ask itself and weep, then we can understand something. There is a worldly compassion which is useless. You expressed something like this. It’s a compassion that makes us put our hands in our pockets and give something to the poor. But if Christ had had that kind of compassion he would have greeted a couple of people, given them something, and walked on. But it was only when he was able to cry that he understood something of our lives. Dear young boys and girls, today’s world doesn’t know how to cry. The emarginated people, those left to one side, are crying. Those who are discarded are crying. But we don’t understand much about these people in need. Certain realities of life we only see through eyes cleansed by our tears. I invite each one here to ask yourself: have I learned how to weep? Have I learned how to weep for the emarginated or for a street child who has a drug problem or for an abused child? Unfortunately there are those who cry because they want something else.
This is the first thing I want to say: let us learn how to weep as she has shown us today and let us not forget this lesson. The great question of why so many children suffer, she did this in tears. The response that we can make today is: let us really learn how to weep.
In the Gospel, Jesus cried for his dead friend, he cried in his heart for the family who lost its child, for the poor widow who had to bury her son. He was moved to tears and compassion when he saw the crowds without a pastor. If you don’t learn how to cry, you cannot be a good Christian. This is a challenge. When they posed this question to us, why children suffer, why this or that tragedy occurs in life – our response must be either silence or a word that is born of our tears. Be courageous, don’t be afraid to cry.
Then came Leandro Santos II and his question. He also posed a good question: the world of information. Today, with so many means of communication we are overloaded with information. Is that bad? No. It is good and can help. But there is a real danger of living in a way that we accumulate information. We have so much information but maybe we don’t know what to do with that information. So we run the risk of becoming museums of young people who have everything but not knowing what to do with it. We don’t need young museums but we do need holy young people. You may ask me: Father, how do we become saints? This is another challenge. It is the challenge of love. What is the most important subject you have to lean at university? What is most important subject you have to learn in life? To learn how to love. This is the challenge that life offers you: to learn bow to love. Not just to accumulate information without knowing what to do with it.. But through that love let that information bear fruit.
For this the Gospel offers us a serene way forward: using the three languages of the mind, heart and hands – and to use them in harmony. What you think, you must feel and put into effect. Your information comes down to your heart and you put it into practice. Harmoniously. What you think, you feel and you do. Feel what you think and feel what you do. Do what you think and what you feel. The three languages...
Can you repeat this? To think. To feel. To do. And all in harmony...
Real love is about loving and letting yourself be loved. It’s harder to let yourself be loved than to love. That is why it is so difficult to come to the perfect love of God. We can love Him but we must let ourselves be loved by Him. Real love is being open to the love that comes to you. The love that surprises us. If you only have information you are not surprised. Love surprises because it opens a dialogue of loving and being loved. God is a God of surprise because He loved us first. God awaits us to surprise us. Let us allow ourselves to be surprised by God. Let us not have a computer psychology that makes us think we know it all. All answers on computers - but no surprises. The challenge of love. God reveals himself through surprises.
Think of St Matthew. He was a good banker. But he let people down because he imposed taxes against his own people to give to the Romans. He was full of money. Jesus passed by, looked at him and said: “Follow me”. He couldn’t believe it. It you have the opportunity, see Caravaggio’s picture of him. Jesus calls him and those around say: “Him? He betrayed us! He is no good! He hoards money!” But the surprise of being loved overcomes him. The day when Matthew left home for work, saying goodbye to his wife, he couldn’t imagine he would come home without money and have to prepare a feast for the one who loved him first. God surprised Matthew more than the money he had. Allow yourselves to be surprised by God. Don’t be afraid of surprises. They shake the ground beneath our feet and make us insecure, but they move us forward in the right direction.
Real love allows you to spend yourselves, to leave your pockets empty. Think of St Francis who died with empty hands and empty pockets but with a full heart. Remember: no young museums, and wise young people. To be wise use three languages: think well, feel well and do well. And to be wise allow yourselves to be surprised by the love of God. That will guarantee a good life.
Rikki came up with a good plan for what we can do in life with all young people’s activities.
Thank you, Rikki, for what you and your friends do. I’d like to ask you a question: you and your friends help others but do you allow yourselves to receive? Answer in your heart.
In the Gospel we just heard, there was a beautiful phrase, for me the most important of all: Jesus looked at the young man and he loved him. When you see Rikki and his friends you love them because they do good things. Jesus says something very important: you lack one thing. Let us listen to this word in silence: you lack only one thing.
What is it that I lack? To all of you who Jesus loves so much, I ask you: do you allow others to give you from their riches to you who have not? The Sadducees, Doctors of the Law, in the time of Jesus, gave much to the people, they taught the people the law, but they never allowed the people to give them something. Jesus had to come to allow himself to feel compassion and to be loved.
How many young people among you are like this? You know how to give and yet you have ever learned how to receive. You still lack one thing. Become a beggar. This is what you still lack. Learn how to beg. This isn’t easy to understand. To learn how to beg. To learn how to receive with humility. To learn to be evangelized by the poor, by those we help, the sick, orphans, they have so much to give us. Have I learned how to beg? Or am I self-sufficient? Do I think I need nothing? Do you know you too are poor? Do you know your own poverty and your need to receive? Do you let yourselves be evangelized by those you serve? This is what helps you mature in your commitment to give to others. Learn how to open your hand from your very own poverty.
There are some points I have prepared. The first, I already told you: to learn how to love and to learn how to be loved. There is a challenge which is a challenge of u. This is not only because your country more than many others is likely to be seriously affected by climate change. There is the challenge, the concern for the environment. And finally, there is the challenge for the poor, to love the poor, with your bishops. Do you think of the poor? Do you feel with the poor? Do you do something for the poor? Do you ask the poor to give you the wisdom they have?
This is what I wish to tell you all today. Sorry if I haven’t read what I prepared for you but there is a phrase that consoles me: that reality is superior to ideas. The reality that you have is superior to the paper I have in front of me.
Thank you very much. Pray for me!
As delivered by the Pope, in Spanish
Primero de todo una noticia triste: ayer mientras estaba por empezar la misa se cayĆ³ una de las torres y al caer hiriĆ³ una muchacha que estaba trabajando y muriĆ³. Su nombre es Cristal. Ella trabajo en la organizaciĆ³n de esa misa. TenĆa 27 aƱos, era joven como ustedes y trabajaba para una asociaciĆ³n. Era una voluntaria. Yo quisiera que nosotros todos juntos, ustedes jĆ³venes como ella rezĆ”ramos en silencio 1 minuto y despuĆ©s invoquemos a nuestra madre del cielo… TambiĆ©n hagamos una oraciĆ³n por su Papa y su mama. Era Ćŗnica hija. Su mamĆ” estĆ” llegando de Hong Kong. Su papa ha venido a Manila es espera a su mamĆ”…
En la pequeƱa representaciĆ³n de las mujeres. Demasiado poco. Las mujeres tienen mucho que decirnos en la sociedad de hoy. A veces somos demasiado machistas y no dejamos lugar a la mujer. Pero la mujer es capaz de ver las cosas con ojos distintos de los hombres. La mujer es capaz de hacer preguntas que los hombres no terminamos de entender. Presten ustedes atenciĆ³n, ella hoy hizo la Ćŗnica pregunta que no tiene respuesta. Y no le alcanzaron las palabras, necesitĆ³ decirlo con lĆ”grimas. AsĆ que cuando venga el prĆ³ximo Papa que haya mĆ”s mujeres.
Yo te agradezco Shon que hayas expresado tan valientemente tu experiencia. Como dije reciĆ©n, el nĆŗcleo de tu pregunta casi no tiene respuesta. Solamente cuando somos capaces de llorar sobre las cosas que vos viviste podemos entender algo y responder algo. La gran pregunta para todos: ¿Por quĆ© sufren los niƱos?, ¿por quĆ© sufren los niƱos? ReciĆ©n cuando el corazĆ³n alcanza a hacerse la pregunta y a llorar, podemos entender algo.
¡Existe una compasiĆ³n mundana que no nos sirve para nada! Una compasiĆ³n que a lo mas no lleva a meter la mano en el bolsillo y a dar una moneda. Si Cristo hubiera tenido esa compasiĆ³n hubiera pasado, curado a tres o cuatro y se hubiera vuelto al Padre. solamente cuando Cristo llorĆ³ y fue capaz de llorar entendiĆ³ nuestros dramas.
“Queridos chicos y chicas, al mundo de hoy le falta llorar. Lloran los marginados, lloran aquellos que son dejados de lado, lloran los despreciados, pero aquellos que llevamos una vida mĆ”s o menos sin necesidades no sabemos llorar. Ciertas realidades de la vida se ven solamente con los ojos limpios por las lĆ”grimas. Los invito a que cada uno se pregunte: Yo aprendĆ a llorar? cuando veo un niƱo con hambre, un niƱo drogado en la calle, un niƱo que no tiene casa, un niƱo abandonado, un niƱo abusado, un niƱo usado como esclavo por la sociedad? O mi llanto ¿es el llanto caprichoso de aquel que llora porque le gustarĆa tener algo mĆ”s? Y esto es lo primero que yo quisiera decirles: aprendamos a llorar, como ella nos enseĆ±Ć³ hoy. No olvidemos este testimonio. La gran pregunta ¿por quĆ© sufren los niƱos? la hizo llorando y la gran respuesta que podemos hacer todos nosotros es aprender a llorar.
JesĆŗs en el evangelio llorĆ³, llorĆ³ por el amigo muerto. LlorĆ³ en su corazĆ³n por esa familia que habĆa perdido a su hija. Lloro en su corazĆ³n cuando vio a esa pobre madre viuda que llevaba a enterar a su hijo. Se conmoviĆ³ y llorĆ³ en su corazĆ³n cuando vio a la multitud como ovejas sin pastor. Si vos no aprendes a llorar no sos un buen cristiano. Y este es un desafĆo. Shon nos ha planteado este desafĆo. Y cuando nos hagan la pregunta: porquĆ© sufren los niƱos, porque sucede esto u esto otro de trĆ”gico en la vida? que nuestra respuesta sea el silencio o la palabra que nace de las lĆ”grimas. Sean valientes, no tengan miedo de llorar.
Y despuĆ©s vino Leandro Santos. TambiĆ©n hizo preguntas sobre el mundo de la informaciĆ³n. Hoy con tantos medios estamos hĆper informados y ¿eso es malo? ¡No! Eso es bueno y ayuda, pero corremos el peligro de vivir acumulando informaciĆ³n. Y tenemos mucha informaciĆ³n, pero quizĆ” no sabemos quĆ© hacer con ella. Corremos el riesgo de convertirnos en “jĆ³venes museo”, que tienen de todo pero no saben quĆ© hacer. No necesitamos “jĆ³venes museos” sino jĆ³venes sabios.
Me pueden preguntar: Padre ¿cĆ³mo se llega ser sabio? Y este es otro desafĆo, el desafĆo del amor. ¿CuĆ”l es la materia mĆ”s importante que tiene que aprender en la Universidad?, ¿CuĆ”l es la mĆ”s importante que hay que aprender en la vida? Aprender a amar. Y este es el desafĆo que la vida te pone a vos hoy. ¡Aprender amar! No solo acumular informaciĆ³n y no saber quĆ© hacer con ella. Es un museo. Sino a travĆ©s del amor hacer que esa informaciĆ³n sea fecunda. Para esto el Evangelio nos propone un camino sereno, tranquilo, usar los tres lenguajes, el lenguaje de la mente, el lenguaje del corazĆ³n y el lenguaje de las manos. Y los tres lenguajes armoniosamente, lo que pensĆ”s lo sentĆs y lo realizas. Tu informaciĆ³n baja al corazĆ³n, lo conmueve y lo realiza. Y esto armoniosamente: pensar lo que se siente y lo que se hace. Sentir lo que pienso y lo que hago, hacer lo que pienso y lo que siento. Los tres lenguajes. ¿Se animan a repetir los tres lenguajes en voz alta?
El verdadero amor es amar y dejarme amar. Es mĆ”s difĆcil dejarse amar que amar. Por eso es tan difĆcil llegar al amor perfecto de Dios, porque podemos amarlo, pero lo importante es dejarnos amar por Ć©l. El verdadero amor es abrirse a ese amor que estĆ” primero y que nos provoca una sorpresa. Si vos tenĆ©s solo toda la informaciĆ³n estas cerrado a las sorpresas, el amor te abre a las sorpresas, el amor siempre es una sorpresa porque supone un dialogo entre dos. Entre el que ama y el que es amado. Y de Dios decimos que es el Dios de las sorpresas porque Ć©l nos amĆ³ primero y nos espera con una sorpresa. Dios nos sorprende, DejĆ©monos sorprender por Dios. Y no tengamos la psicologĆa de la computadora de creer saberlo todo. ¿cĆ³mo es esto? Un momento y la computadora tiene todas las respuestas, ninguna sorpresa. En el desafĆo del amor Dios se manifiesta con sorpresas.
Pensemos en san Mateo –recordĆ³ Francisco-, era un buen comerciante, ademĆ”s traicionaba a su patria porque le cobraba los impuestos los judĆos para pagĆ”rselo a los romanos, estaba lleno de plata y cobraba los impuestos. Pasa JesĆŗs lo mira y le dice venĆ. Los que estaban con Ć©l dicen: ¿a este que es un traidor, un sinvergĆ¼enza? y Ć©l se agarra a la plata. Pero la sorpresa de ser amado lo vence y siguiĆ³ a JesĆŗs. Esa maƱana cuando se despidiĆ³ de su mujer nunca pensĆ³ que iba volver sin dinero y apurado para decirle a su mujer que preparara un banquete. El banquete para aquel que lo habĆa amado primero. Que lo habĆa sorprendido con algo mĆ”s importante que toda la plata que tenĆa. ¡DĆ©jate sorprender por Dios! No le tengas miedo a las sorpresas, que te mueven el piso, que te ponen inseguro, pero nos ponen en camino. El verdadero amor te mueve a quemar la vida aĆŗn a riesgo de quedarte con las manos vacĆas. Pensemos en san Francisco, dejĆ³ todo, muriĆ³ con las manos vacĆas pero con el corazĆ³n lleno.
¿De acuerdo? No jĆ³venes de museo sino jĆ³venes sabios. Para ser sabios usar los tres lenguajes: pensar bien, sentir bien y hacer bien. Y para ser sabios, dejarse sorprender por el amor de Dios y anda y quema la vida. ¡Gracias por tu aporte de hoy!
Y el que vino con un buen plan para ayudarnos a ver cĆ³mo podemos andar en la vida fue Riqui, contĆ³ todas las actividades, todo lo que hacen, todo lo que pueden hacer. Gracias Riqui, gracias por lo que haces vos y tus compaƱeros. Pero yo te voy a hacer una pregunta: vos y tus amigos van a dar, dan, dan, ayudan, pero vos ¿dejĆ”s que te den?, contestate en el corazĆ³n. En el evangelio que escuchamos reciĆ©n hay una frase que para mĆ es la mĆ”s importante de todas, dice el evangelio que JesĆŗs a ese joven lo mirĆ³ y lo amĆ³. Cuando uno ve el grupo de Richi y sus compaƱeros, uno los quiere mucho porque hacen cosas muy buenas, pero la frase mĆ”s importante que dice JesĆŗs: solo te falta una cosa. Cada uno de nosotros escuchemos en silencio esta palabra de JesĆŗs: solo te falta una cosa”. ¿QuĆ© cosa me falta? Para todos los que JesĆŗs ama tanto porque dan tanto a los demĆ”s yo les pregunto: ¿vos dejas que otros te den de esa otra riqueza que vos no tenĆ©s?
Los saduceos, los doctores de la ley de la Ć©poca de JesĆŗs daban mucho al pueblo, le daban la ley, le enseƱaban, pero nunca dejaron que el pueblo les diera algo. Tuvo que venir JesĆŗs para dejarse conmover por el pueblo. ¡CuĆ”ntos jĆ³venes como vos que hay aquĆ saben dar pero todavĆa no aprendieron a recibir!
Solo te falta una cosa. Esto es lo que nos falta: aprender a mendigar de aquellos a quienes damos. Esto no es fĆ”cil de entender aprender a mendigar. Aprender a recibir de la humildad de aquellos que ayudamos. Aprender a ser evangelizados por los pobres. Las personas a quienes ayudamos, pobres, enfermos, huĆ©rfanos, tienen mucho que darnos. ¿Me hago mendigo y pido tambiĆ©n eso?, ¿o soy suficiente y solamente voy a dar? Vos que vivĆs dando siempre y crees que no tenĆ©s necesidad de nada ¿sabĆ©s que sos un pobre tipo?, ¿sabĆ©s que tenĆ©s mucha pobreza y necesitas que te den?, ¿Te dejas ayudar por los pobres, enfermos y por aquellos que ayudas? Esto es lo que ayuda a madurar a jĆ³venes comprometidos como Riqui en el trabajo de dar a los demĆ”s, aprender a tender la mano desde la propia miseria.
Hay algunos puntos que yo habĆa preparado: aprender a amar y a dejarse amar. Hay un desafĆo ademĆ”s, que es el desafĆo por la integridad. Amar a los pobres. Nuestros obispos quieren que mires a los pobres de manera especial este aƱo. ¿Vos pensĆ”s en los pobres?, ¿vos sentĆs con los pobres?, ¿vos haces algo por los pobres? Y vos ¿pedĆs a los pobres que te den esa sabidurĆa que tienen? Esto es lo que querĆa decirles. Perdonenme porque no leĆ lo que les tenĆa preparado. Pero hay una frase que me consuela un poquito: “La realidad es superior a la idea” y la realidad que ustedes plantearon y la realidad de ustedes es superior a todas las respuestas que yo habĆa preparado. ¡Gracias!
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