Pope encourages Singapore's young to cultivate unity amid diversity

SINGAPORE (CNS) — Before leaving Singapore, the most religiously diverse country on his trip to Asia and the Pacific, Pope Francis urged young people to approach others with courage and friendship.

“A young person who wants only a comfortable life becomes fat,” the pope told young people Sept. 13. “That is why I say, ‘Take risks, go out.'”

The pope went to the interreligious meeting with young people at the Catholic Junior College after a brief meeting with representatives of Singapore’s priests and religious at the St. Francis Xavier Retreat Center, where he had been staying.

Young people wave the flags of the Vatican and Singapore as Pope Francis arrives for an interreligious meeting with young people at the Catholic Junior College in Singapore Sept. 13, 2024. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

He asked priests to be “in the midst of the people, united to God, brothers among yourselves and united with your bishop.” And he asked the women religious “to express the maternity of the church” in Singaporean society.

Moving on to St. Theresa’s Home, a resident care facility for the sick and the elderly, Pope Francis visited with the staff and residents, and he spent a few moments with retired Singapore Archbishop Nicholas Chia Yeck Joo, 86, who lives there.

At the meeting with young people, Edwin Tong, the government minister for culture, community and youth, told Pope Francis that preserving respect and tolerance among Singapore’s religious communities is so important that his office chairs a National Steering Committee on Racial and Religious Harmony, which includes Cardinal William Goh of Singapore and the leaders of other faiths.

“Unity and peace cannot happen without dialogue, trust and cooperation for the common good,” Tong said. “Our religious communities speak for values such as honesty, compassion and fairness. These are powerful forces in building cohesion in a polarized world.”

Cardinal Goh told the pope, “There will always be extremists at work in all religions, threatening the harmonious relationships among believers of different faiths. Therefore, we do not take religious harmony in Singapore for granted. We must intentionally keep building and renewing ties, sharing common values and celebrating our faith together.”

Three young adults — a Hindu, a Sikh and a Catholic — briefly shared with the pope their experiences of interreligious dialogue and asked Pope Francis for advice on involving more young people in dialogue, on overcoming the fear of being judged and on using artificial intelligence and other technologies to promote understanding among different groups.

In response, Pope Francis set aside his prepared text and encouraged the young people to recognize when they make a mistake, try to correct it and keep going.

“What is worse: making a mistake because you actually did something or making no mistakes because you did nothing?” he asked. A person who does not do anything is old before his or her time.

People, especially young people, need to use media to communicate, learn and move forward, he said, but they also must take care not to become “slaves” to it.

Praising the young people engaged in dialogue, Pope Francis asked them, “If we always say, ‘My religion is more important than yours’ or ‘My religion is true and yours is not,’ where will that lead us?”

“Every religion is a path toward God,” who is the creator and father of all, the pope said. And if there is only one God and father, then all people are brothers and sisters.

“Have courage to go forward and engage in dialogue,” he said.