Pope Francis heads to Rome after concluding his twelve-day tour of Asia and Oceania

September 13 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Pope Francis headed to Rome on Friday morning after completing his participation in an interreligious meeting with young people at the Catholic Junior College in Singapore, which marks the end of his twelve-day tour of different countries in Asia and Oceania, the longest trip of his mandate.

During the event, the Pope asked young people to be “critical” and at the same time “constructive” in order to promote a “sincere dialogue” that allows them to “build, advance and leave their comfort zones.”

“Youth must be critical. Young people must be critical, but they must be constructive in their criticism, because there is a destructive criticism that criticizes a lot but does not forge a new path. You young people must have the courage to build, to move forward and to leave your ‘comfort’ zones. A young person who always chooses to live his life in a ‘comfortable’ way is a young person who gains weight! But he does not gain weight in his belly, he gains weight in his mind! That is why I say to young people: Take risks, go out! Do not be afraid!” said the Pontiff.

In this regard, he explained that taking risks implies making mistakes “many times,” although the important thing is to “realize” the error, according to the Vatican news portal.

He then addressed the religious issue in one of the countries with the greatest diversity of religions in the world: “All religions are a path to reach God, and as God is God for all, we are all children of God,” he said during a reflection that calls for avoiding discussions about which is the most important religion.

“Because their dialogue is a dialogue that paves the way, it paves the way. And if they dialogue as young people, they will dialogue more as adults, as citizens, as politicians (…) I wish them to continue forward with enthusiasm and not to go backwards, take risks!” he added.

Regarding the media and new technologies, the Pope explained that “a young person who does not use the media” is someone “closed”, but that they must be used in order to “advance” and not live “totally enslaved”.

The Pope thus concluded his 45th apostolic journey, which included visits to and meetings with authorities and various associations in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.