Pope tells crowd of one million young Catholics ‘a different world is possible'
In his closing blessing for the Jubilee of Youth, Leo remembered the young people of Gaza and Ukraine and other countries 'bloodied by war' who could not join the celebration.
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'We are closer than ever to young people who suffer the most serious evils, which are caused by other human beings,' Leo said. 'We are with the young people of Gaza. We are with the young people of Ukraine, with those of every land bloodied by war.
'My young brothers and sisters, you are the sign that a different world is possible. A world of fraternity and friendship, where conflicts are not resolved with weapons, but with dialogue.'
Young people wake up after spending the night at the Tor Vergata field in Rome as part of the event (Andrew Medichini/AP)
The young people camped in sprawling fields south-east of Rome overnight after attending a vigil service for the Jubilee of Youth on Saturday, also presided by Leo – who has been ferried to and from Vatican City by helicopter.
The Vatican said more than one million young people were present, along with 7,000 priests and 450 bishops.
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The special Jubilee celebration is part of the Holy Year that is expected to draw 32 million people to the Vatican for the centuries-old pilgrimage to the seat of Catholicism.
During the Sunday homily, Leo urged participants to 'spread your enthusiasm and the witness of your faith' when they return home to some 150 countries.
'Aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are,' Leo urged them. 'Do not settle for less. You will then see the light of the Gospel growing every day, in you and around you.'
Leo led Mass with an estimated one million people (Andrew Medichini/AP)
Leo reminded the crowd their next encounter will be for World Youth Day, set for August 3-8 in 2027, in Seoul, South Korea.
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The week has been a joyous gathering marked by bands of youths singing hymns as they move down cobblestoned streets, praying rosaries in piazzas and standing for hours at the Circus Maximus to confess their sins to priests offering the sacrament in a dozen languages.
Leo also shared tragic news on Saturday. Two young people who had made the pilgrimage to Rome had died, one reportedly of cardiac arrest, while a third was in hospital.
Rain overnight awakened the faithful but did not dampen their spirits.
Soemil Rios, 20, from Puerto Rico, said: 'At least we were a little covered, but we still got a bit wet. We lost our voices a little. It was cold, but we woke up to a beautiful sun and view.
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'Despite the difficulties, it was very nice and very special to have been part of this historic moment.'
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"Posts should meet with government officials, businesses, civil society, and impacted individuals to report on censorship cases, including but not limited to those related to the DSA," the cable said. In March, the chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) specifically criticized DSA saying it was not compatible with America's free speech tradition. In May, Rubio threatened visa bans for people who "censor" speech by Americans, including on social media, and suggested the policy could target foreign officials regulating U.S. tech companies. U.S. tech companies like Facebook and Instagram parent Meta (META.O), opens new tab have weighed in too, saying the DSA amounts to censorship of their platforms. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, who also owns social media company X, was a leading adviser to the U.S. president before the two fell out, while the bosses of Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab, Meta and Google-owner Alphabet (GOOGL.O) took prominent spots at Trump's inauguration in January. Rubio's directive takes particular aim at DSA's description of illegal content, saying it was expansive and told U.S. diplomats to advocate to get the definition of "illegal content" narrowed so that it would not curb freedom of expression, including in political and religious discourse. Another suggestion was to withdraw or amend the Code of Conduct on Disinformation, a framework under DSA, which the State Department said was setting "overly broad controls" on content in a way that was undermining freedom of expression. Other talking points included removing or reducing fines for non-compliance to content restrictions and not relying on "trusted flaggers", entities designated by national authorities to report illegal online content to platforms.
