Pope Francis Listens to Youth in Jakarta and Stresses the Need for Dialogue and Peace

Apostolic Journey of His Holiness Francis in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore (2 to 13 September 2024) – Meeting with the young people of Scholas Occurrentes at the Grha Pemuda Youth House, 04.09.2024
Pope Francis on his 45th Apostolic Journey abroad; holds his regular meeting of the Pope's foreign visits. Scholas is a global educational project founded by the Pope, focuses on engaging youth in education, art, and sports. They go hand in hand with the motto of the Indonesian people: “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika”, or Unity in Diversity.

The 200 young people from the Indonesian branch, who come from various islands, schools, and religions, greeted the Pope in Jakarta’s “Grha Pemuda” Youth House, demonstrating precisely the diversity and unity so important both to the Pope and to the Indonesian people. A sculpture of a polyhedron dominated the room where the meeting took place. So big that the Pope was able to step inside it. It was made by over 1500 young people from Jakarta, Lombok, Labuan Bayo and Bali. Two women inside the Polyhedron greeted Pope Francis, before sharing their testimonies.

Bryan spoke about the realities regarding discrimination and cyberbullying and about how in Scholas each person is given a platform to talk and share their experiences, both good and bad. Responding to Bryan, Pope Francis laid out four principles of coexistence and peace: Reality is better than ideas, unity is better than conflict, the whole is better than a part, and the whole is better than an idea.

A young woman, Christine, shared her testimony. “I experienced cyberbullying firsthand” she told the Pope. “I was cornered and rejected for no reason”. Christine shared her concern at the knowledge that this happens to so many young people around the world.
But through Scholas, Christine says that people can learn that the differences that often divide can also unite. “We learned to unite our differences, to build bonds of unity, and to understand that differences are not a path to destruction, but rather a step towards unity”.
"If we were all the same", Pope Francis told her, "that would be boring. Difference can give rise to war, or to dialogue - we have to choose. War is always a defeat, but discussing with your friends - that's a beautiful thing, that can make you grow."

At the end of the meeting with the bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated men and women, seminarians and catechists, the Holy Father Francis visited the Grha Pemuda Youth House where the meeting with the young people of Scholas Occurrentes was held.The Pope was welcomed in the courtyard adjacent to the Youth House by leaders of Scholas Occurrentes and one hundred children from the archdiocese of Jakarta. Two children offered him a gift, while others sang a hymn. The Pope then entered the Saint Mathias and Saint Tadeus Room, where he met the participants in the “Scholas Aldeas” Project.

He was then accompanied to the Saint Jacob Room for a private meeting with the managing board of Scholas Occurrentes.
Then, after a brief discussion with some students, the Holy Father completed the polyhedron made by the young people, putting the final piece into place. Finally, the Pope planted a tree and imparted the final blessing.
After the afternoon meetings, Pope Francis stopped in several places before returning, after about an hour, to the Nunciature, greeting the many Indonesians, in particular the children, gathered along the route.
Sources: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2024/09/04/0656/01350.html and Vatican News