Tens of thousands in Rome for Vatican's Jubilee of Youth
Since Monday, groups of pilgrims -- chanting and draped in flags of their countries -- have flooded the streets of Italy's capital and the corners of the Vatican City.
An opening mass is scheduled at St Peter's Basilica later on Tuesday at 1700 GMT.
The Vatican had last week said it expected some half a million people from more than 150 countries to take part in the youth events -- that are dedicated to faith and culture.
The week will culminate with a giant mass led by Pope Leo on Sunday.
The Jubilee of Youth is aimed at young people aged between 18 and 35.
Pilgrims AFP spoke to said topics they most wanted to discuss at the events were wars, climate change, social inequalities and the dangers linked to AI.
"The most important topic for me is war. Everyone is talking about it, thinking about it, and we want to know what the pope thinks about it and what he expects from us," 25-year-old Tiago Santos, a pilgrim from Portugal, told AFP.
The event is taking place as tens of thousands have been killed in Gaza after almost two years of war with Israel and as UN groups warn of spreading starvation in the blocked territory.
In Ukraine, Russia's almost 3.5-year invasion has killed thousands, with Moscow continuing deadly attacks despite Western pressure to end its campaign.
For Teophanie Nasta, a 26-year-old Lebanese pilgrim who left her country for the first time, said that -- despite the conflicts in the Middle East -- she was filled with "faith in humanity by seeing so many young people" gathered for the church.
In an unprecedented move, the Vatican decided to dedicated a series of events to Catholic influencers -- a sign of growing importance of social media for the church.
Speaking to them on Tuesday morning, Pope Leo warned against the dangers of undermining "human dignity" in the AI era.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
2 hours ago
- Euronews
European dockworkers demand halt to arms shipments to Israel
European dockworkers are calling on EU governments to halt arms shipments and withdraw diplomatic support for Israel. They stress that international treaties state that weapons should not be exported to war zones where human rights are violated. 'Over the past two years, we've seen an increase in the movement of weapons through civilian ports,' says Josè Nivoi, a key figure in the Genoese dockworkers' movement. 'We've filed a number of legal complaints. An excuse they often use is that they frame it as a private transaction rather than a state-to-state arms transfer — as if they were trading bananas.' For years Nivoi has collected evidence about arms cargo loads in the port as a union manager. Dockworkers accuse authorities of deliberately keeping silent about controversial shipments. 'In Italy, Law no. 185 of 1990 in principle prohibits the transit and shipment of weapons to countries at war. We are calling for civilian ports not to be used to move arms.' In 2024, Italy announced that it had suspended shipments of military equipment to Israel, while honouring contracts signed before 7 October 2023. This translates into over €6 million in weapons, ammunition, maintenance and spare parts. Facts and figures on Israel's weapons' imports Israel imports almost 70% of its arsenal from the US, the world's largest arms exporter. Germany is Israel's second supplier. Since 7 October 2023, it has exported 485 million euros worth of weapons. Italy ranks third, supplying less than 1%. The UN Arms Trade Treaty and the European Common Position state that human rights violations and war crimes should prevent such sales. The EU Council Common Position is legally binding but it lacks enforcement. Member states can interpret it differently. Following the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Italy, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands have halted or restricted exports. There's little scrutiny over Hamas' weapons, mostly from Iran, which has not signed the UN arms trade treaty. Why does Israel receive military support from EU countries? The EU recently found that Israel is breaching its human rights obligations in Gaza. So why does Israel still receive military support from European countries? Giorgio Beretta, one of the most authoritative Italian analysts on the arms trade and a long-standing voice of the Italian Peace and Disarmament Network, explains that treaties are voluntary and then each country must commit to them. 'The regulations are sound. The problem lies in their enforcement, because there is always a wide margin of discretion,' says Giorgio Beretta of the Permanent Observatory on Small Arms, OPAL. Beretta says the information provided to national governments, which are responsible for ensuring weapons are not used to commit human rights violations, is often too vague. 'A general category might be indicated, such as 'aircraft' or 'naval vessels', but there's a big difference between aircraft used for ground attacks and aircraft used for rescue. By the time a parliament reviews exports, the weapons have often already been delivered.' In May, the EU announced a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement after finding Israel in breach of the trade deal's human rights clause, citing violations in Gaza and the West Bank. By July, the EU had postponed any actions, let alone any sanctions, including a possible arms embargo — yet again exposing its deep-rooted divisions over Israel.
AFP
2 hours ago
- AFP
Montreal basilica did not chime bells to discourage praying Muslims
"In an attempt to intimidate Catholics, Muslims held a 'prayer service' in front of the Cathedral in Montreal. This was the Cathedral's response...," claims the caption of a July 24, 2025 Instagram video. In the clip, participants accompanied by a Palestinian flag kneel and rise in a public square as loud church bells silence most of the other noise in the footage. Different versions of the claim that the video shows the iconic Montreal basilica deliberately drowning out the Muslim prayer also spread on Facebook, X and TikTok. Image Screenshot of an Instagram post taken July 29, 2025 Image Screenshot of an X post taken July 29, 2025 The proportion of Muslims in the Canadian population more than doubled from 2001-2021 (archived here), creating tensions over how to accommodate requests to pray during the school or work day. In December 2024, Quebec Premier François Legault said he wants to ban praying in public, commenting that he wanted to send a "message to Islamists." The Canadian Muslim Forum said the threatened ban "unfairly targets Quebecers, especially those of Muslim faith, based solely on their backgrounds" (archived here). Some rabbis criticized the proposal, while Catholic bishops in the province panned the move to restrict public expression of faith in a letter saying "praying is not dangerous" (archived here and here). The posts claiming the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal deliberately rang its bells to put a stop to the Muslim prayer in front of its establishment are inaccurate. A basilica spokesman told AFP the demonstration did not trigger the striking of the bells, which he said automatically chime every hour on the hour. "The basilica is not involved in these gatherings, which are a legitimate exercise of freedom of expression in an emblematic public space of Montreal," the spokesman said in a July 29 email. The Canadian Press reported one of the earliest versions of the clip uploaded to social media claimed the footage was taken on June 8 at around 6 pm (2200 GMT). Six o'clock is the final hour the bells are struck each day, ending the schedule with a more complex flurry of rings, according to the basilica's website (archived here). Rather than a consistent chiming, the bells heard in the video circulating on social media are more frenetic. The Canadian Press fact-check also noted a protest advertised by the advocacy group Montreal4Palestine took place on June 8 within walking distance of the church (archived here and here). AFP reached out to the organization for a comment but did not receive a response. AFP previously fact-checked claims misrepresenting Muslim beliefs and engagement with pro-Palestinian advocacy in Canada.
Euronews
6 hours ago
- Euronews
Customs duties: What will be the impact on European consumers?
The impact of a tentative trade deal struck by the European Union and United States on European consumers will be limited, experts have said. On Sunday, the US and the EU agreed to a deal in order to avoid a trade war between the world's two largest economies, warding off US President Donald Trump's threat of 30% tariffs on most European goods if no deal was reached by 1 August. Under the preliminary agreement, around 70% of EU exports bound for the US will now be subject to a 15% tariff. The remaining 30% of goods are open to further negotiations. The EU has not put in place any tariff barriers targeting American products, so their prices will not rise in Europe. "The impact on European consumers will be limited," Agustín Reyna, Director General of the European Consumers' Organisation (BEUC), said. "Customs duties are paid by the importer. In this case, the 15% tax that the United States imposes on EU products applies to American importers. So that means that certain products could become more expensive for American citizens", Reyna told Euronews. Increase in Chinese products In the long term, Chinese products currently exported to the United States could find their way onto the European market, which could lead to lower prices in Europe. "The main effect will be a drop in demand for European products in the United States, less demand for Chinese products in the United States, and this means that these products will then try to find a market in Europe, which will generally lead to lower prices," Niclas Poitiers, a researcher at Bruegel, told Euronews. These lower prices for European consumers would however be bad news for certain businesses. "There are certain companies that are in direct competition with Chinese competitors. And for these companies, they could face stronger competition and they could also have difficulty with these lower prices. So there is a negative effect," Poitiers said. Drop in demand for EU products in the US? European companies exporting to the United States risk facing a drop in demand on the other side of the Atlantic as their products risk becoming more expensive. This could lead to a drop in their revenues and potentially jobs in Europe. "There are certain companies in certain sectors, like pharmaceuticals, for example, where there is a large proportion of exports and employment for things that go to the United States. But for most sectors, this represents a small proportion of production," Niclas Poitiers said. As a result of the deal, Trump has expressed hope that foreign companies will be encouraged to open factories in the US to avoid paying customs duties. However, the unpredictability of his agreements and the uncertainty surrounding the duration of these tariff barriers could, conversely, discourage European companies from investing in the US. 'Counterproductive' In Brussels, residents interviewed about the terms of the new agreement said they thought the deal would have little impact on their purchasing power. "I don't think it will have an impact on my daily life, maybe a little, but it will affect Americans more," said Ian, from England. He added: "I think tariffs are counterproductive. I think I'd prefer free trade and I think it's damaging for Americans to impose tariffs on everyone." Carolina, an Italian citizen, believes that the trade agreement "will have an impact on everyone in different ways, depending on the areas in which we work and the lives we lead." The EU is too highly dependent on the US and should have greater economic autonomy, she said.
