The Pope asks young people to eat “less meat” to help “save the environment”

Pope Francis has recommended to young people “eat less meat” to contribute to “save the environment”, as the Minister of Consumption of the Government of Spain, Alberto Garzón, has already done.

This is how the Pope stated it in a message addressed to the participants of the European Youth Conferencewhich takes place from this Monday to Wednesday in Prague.

“It is urgent reduce consumption not only of fossil fuels, but also of many superfluous things; and equally, in certain areas of the world, it would be convenient to consume less meat, this can also help save the environment”, the Pontiff underlines in his message.

[El Papa dice que la guerra de Ucrania “fue provocada” y se originó para vender armas]

Bergoglio says that he is glad to see that, “while previous generations talked a lot and concluded little”, today’s young people are “capable of taking concrete initiatives”. Therefore, he encourages them to fight against the “self-destructive tendency” and to aspire to a life “dignified and sober, without luxuries or waste, so that everyone can inhabit the world with dignity”.

“You, young Europeans, have an important mission. If in the past your ancestors traveled to other continents, not always for noble interests, now it is up to you to present a new face of Europe to the world,” Francis declared.

Ask the youth to rebel

In this sense, Bergoglio has asked the youth to have “a broad and open look”. He also invites you to “raise your voice” and adds that, “seeing how this world is being run by adults and the elderly”, it seems that “perhaps” it should be the young who educate “adults in fraternity and peaceful coexistence”.

Likewise, it demands that do not let yourself be “dragged by myopic ideologies who want to show the other, the one who is different, as an enemy” and encourages them to be “in solidarity” with everyone, include migrants and “do not discriminate against anyone” because of their nationality or social status.

[Bolaños se reúne con el Papa: “Ha sido inspirador. Tiene los mismos valores que este Gobierno”]

He also tells them that it is “legitimate to rebel” to promote peace in the face of war “where, as always, a few powerful decide and send thousands of young people to fight and die”. “In Ukraine – which is not the EU, but Europe – an absurd war is being waged. Added to the numerous conflicts taking place in different regions of the world, an Educational Pact that educates everyone in fraternity becomes more urgent”, the Pontiff abounds.

Reject elite schools

At the same time, he suggests that their greatest aspiration “is not to enter elite educational environments, where only those with a lot of money can access.” These institutions, as the Pontiff warns, “They tend to have an interest in maintaining the status quo, in training people so that the system works as it is”.

Instead, he proposes that they value those realities “that combine educational quality with service to others.” “It is these experiences of solidarity that will change the world, not the ‘exclusive’ (and exclusionary) experiences of elite schools,” he insists.