which unites and favours the promotion of moral values, justice, freedom and
peace. Dialogue is a school of humanity and a builder of unity, which helps to
build a society founded on tolerance and mutual respect".
 For this reason, "interreligious dialogue cannot be limited merely to the few,
to leaders of religious communities, but must also extend as far as possible to
all believers, engaging the different sectors of civil society. Particular
attention must be paid to young men and women who are called to build the
future
of this country. It is always worth remembering, however, that for dialogue to
be authentic and effective, it presupposes a solid identity: without an
established identity, dialogue is of no use or even harmful. I say this with
the
young in mind, but it applies to everyone.
 "I sincerely appreciate all that you have managed to accomplish up to this
point and I encourage each of you in your efforts for the cause of peace of
which you, as religious leaders, are the first guardians here in Bosnia and
Herzegovina. I assure you that the Catholic Church will continue to offer her
full support and willingness to help", the Pope emphasised. "We are all aware
that there is a long way yet to go. Let us not be discouraged, however, by the
difficulties, but rather continue with perseverance along the way of
forgiveness
and reconciliation. While we seek to recall the past with honesty, thereby
learning the lessons of history, we must also avoid lamentation and
recrimination, letting ourselves instead be purified by God Who gives us the
present and the future: He is our future, He is the ultimate source of peace.
 "This city, which in the recent past sadly became a symbol of war and
destruction, this Jerusalem of Europe, today, with its variety of peoples,
cultures and religions, can become again a sign of unity, a place in which
diversity does not represent a threat but rather a resource, an opportunity to
grow together. In a world unfortunately torn by conflicts, this land can become
a message: attesting that it is possible to live together side by side, in
diversity but rooted in a common humanity, building together a future of peace
and brotherhood. You can live life being a peacemaker!".
 Following his discourse, and before asking all those present to pray for him
and assuring them of his prayers, Pope Francis recited the following prayer "to
the Eternal, One and True Living God, to the Merciful God":
 "Almighty and eternal God,
 good and merciful Father;
 Creator of heaven and earth, of all that is visible and invisible;
 God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob,
 King and Lord of the past, of the present and of the future;
 sole judge of every man and woman,
 Who reward Your faithful with eternal glory!
 We, the descendants of Abraham according to our faith in You, the one God,
 Jews, Christians and Muslims,
 humbly stand before You
 and with trust we pray to You
 for this country, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
 that men and women, followers of different religions, nations and cultures
 may live here in peace and harmony.
 We pray to You, O Father,
 that it may be so in every country of the world!
 Strengthen in each of us faith and hope,
 mutual respect and sincere love
 for all of our brothers and sisters.
 Grant that we may dedicate ourselves
 courageously to building a just society,
 to being men and women of good will,
 filled with mutual understanding and forgiveness,
 patient artisans of dialogue and peace.
 May each of our thoughts, words and actions
 be in harmony with Your holy will.
 May everything be to Your glory and honour and for our salvation.
 Praise and eternal glory to You, our God!
 Amen".

___________________________________________________________

 The Pope to the young of Bosnia and Herzegovina: keep the hope that inspires
life
 Vatican City, 8 June 2015 (VIS) - The final stage of the Pope's apostolic trip
to Sarajevo was his meeting with young people at the St. John Paul II diocesan
Youth Centre, in a outskirts of the city. The centre, operative since 2006, is
open to young people of different ethnic backgrounds and religions, and
organises a variety of sports, social and voluntary activities, as well as
pastoral and religious formation for Catholics. Francis was received by the
rector of the Centre and some children who accompanied him to the gymnasium
where he was awaited by around 800 people, to unveil the plaque dedicating the
institution to St. John Paul II.
 After greetings from the auxiliary of Banja Luka, Bishop Marko Semren, the
Holy
Father began a conversation with those present, setting aside the prepared text
of his discourse, published in full below.
 One of the young people asked why the Pope did not watch television any more,
and he answered, "Yes, from the mid-1990s onwards, I felt one night that
watching television was not good for, it distanced me, and led me away... and I
decided not to watch any more. When I wanted to see a good film, I went to the
television room in the Archbishop's residence and watched it there. But just
that film. The television used to make me feel alienated from myself. And yes,
I
am from the Stone Age, I am ancient! Now, I understand that the times have
changed; we live in an age of images. And this is very important. In an age of
images we must do what was done in the age of books: choose what is good for
us!
Out of this come two consequences: the responsibility of television networks to
offer programs which encourage the good, which promote values, which build up
society, which help us advance, not ones that drag us down. And then to produce
programs that help us so that values, true values, may be reinforced and may
help to prepare us for life. This is the responsibility of television networks.
Secondly: knowing how to choose what programs to watch, and this is our
responsibility. If I watch a program that is not good for me, that disparages
my
values, that leads me to become vulgar, even filthy, I need to change the
channel. As was done in my Stone Age: when a book was good, you read it; when a
book was not good for you, you would throw it away. And this leads to a third
point: the point of evil fantasy, of those fantasies which kill the soul. If
you
who are young live attached to your computers and become slaves to the
computer,
you lose your freedom! And if you use your computer to look for dirty programs,
you lose your dignity. Watch television, use the computer, but for good
reasons,
for great things, things which help us to grow. This is good".
 The second question was whether he had felt the joy and the love that all of
the young people of Bosnia and Herzegovina had for him. "To tell you the truth,
every time I meet with young people I feel their joy and love", he answered.
"Not only for me, but for ideals, for life. They want to grow! But there is
some
particular about you: you are, I think, the first post-war generation. You are
the first flowers of spring ... you want to go forwards and never go back to
destruction, to those things that make us enemies of each another. I see in you
this desire and this enthusiasm. And this is new for me. I see that you do not
want destruction: you do not want to become each other's enemies. You want to
journey together. And this is great! ... It is not a case of 'them and us', but
rather of 'we'. We want to be 'us', to not destroy our homeland, to not ruin
our
country. You are a Muslim, you are a Jew, you are Orthodox, you are Catholic...
but we are 'us'. This is how to make peace. This distinguishes your generation,
and it is your joy. You are called to great things. A great vocation: build
bridges, not walls. And this is the joy that I see in you".
 The final question was, "What can you say to us, what is your message of peace
for us young people?"
 "Everyone speaks of peace", said the Holy Father. "Some world leaders speak of
peace, and say beautiful things about peace, but behind it all they still sell
weapons. From you, I expect honesty, coherence between what you think, what you
feel and what you do: these three things together. The contrary is called
hypocrisy. Some years ago I watched a movie on this city, I don't remember the
name, but the German version (the one that I saw), was called 'Die Brücke'
('The
Bridge'). I don't know what it's called in your language. And in the film I saw
how bridges always unite. When a bridge is not used to go toward another
person,
but is closed off, it leads to the ruin of a city, the destruction of
existence.
Hence, from you, from this first post-war generation, I expect honesty and not
hypocrisy. Be united, build bridges, but also let yourselves cross the bridges
that you build. This is brotherhood".
 As he bid farewell to the young, and while doves were released as a sign of
peace, the Pope exclaimed, "Mir Vama! This is the task I leave you. Make peace,
together! These doves are a sign of peace which brings joy. And peace is made
among all, between everyone: Muslims, Jews, Orthodox, Catholics and others. We
are all brothers and sisters! We all adore the One God! Never ever let there be
separation among you. Brotherhood and union. And now I must depart and I ask
you, please, to pray for me. May the Lord bless you".
 Following the encounter, the Pope transferred by car to the airport in
Sarajevo
where he was greeted by the Croat member of the Tripartite Presidency, Dragan
Covic, and at 8 p.m. he left for Rome, where he arrived an hour and a half
later.
 Discourse prepared by Pope Francis:
 "Being here in this Centre dedicated to St. John Paul II, I cannot forget how
much he did for young people, meeting them and encouraging them all around the
world. To his intercession I entrust each of you, as well as every initiative
which the Catholic Church has undertaken in your land to express her closeness
to young people and indeed her confidence in them. We are on this journey
together. I know the doubts and the hopes that you have in your hearts", he
continued. "Some of these have been expressed by Bishop Marko Semren and your
representatives, Darko and Nadezda. In a special way, I join you in hoping that
new generations may be offered real prospects for a dignified future in your
country, thus avoiding the sad phenomenon of mass migration. In this regard,
institutions are being called upon to put in place timely and courageous plans
that will help young men and women to realise their legitimate aspirations;
they
will thus be able to contribute energetically to the upbuilding and growth of
the country. The local Church, for her part, can contribute by means of
suitable
pastoral projects, focusing on educating the civic and moral conscience of the
youth, and so help them to be protagonists in society. The Church's commitment
can already be seen, especially through the precious work of her Catholic
schools, which are rightly open not only to Catholic students but to students
of
other Christian communities and other religions. However, the Church must
always
dare to hope for more, starting from the Gospel and driven by the Holy Spirit

--- MPost/386 v1.21
 * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)