Patriarch Kirill says hopes pinned on Christian youth

ASUNCION, February 17. /TASS/. Pope Francis and Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill are pinning hopes on the Christian youth and their activity, President of Paraguay Horacio Manuel Cartes Jara heard at a meeting with the patriarch on Wednesday. "We had a special appeal to the youth - they are our future," Patriarch Kirill said. "We specifically urge the Christian youth to be active, to take over the responsibility for the future of Christianity," he added. A separate chapter in the joint declaration signed by the pope and the patriarch appealed to the youth. "You, young people, have the task of not hiding your talent in the ground (cf. Mt 25:25), but of using all the abilities God has given you to confirm Christ’s truth in the world, incarnating in your own lives the evangelical commandments of the love of God and of one’s neighbour. Do not be afraid of going against the current, defending God’s truth, to which contemporary secular norms are often far from conforming," the declaration said. The first meeting between a Pope and a Russian Church head since the Western and Eastern branches of Christianity split in the 11th century was held at the airport of Havana on February 12. Read more