Pope, at Brazil shrine, urges youth to embrace traditional values

 
Pope Francis, receiving another rapturous welcome in Brazil, on Wednesday urged young people to shun the "ephemeral idols" of money and pleasure and cherish traditional values to help build a better world.                                 

On the third day of his week-long visit for World Youth Day, a biennial Church gathering being celebrated in and around Rio de Janeiro, he landed by helicopter in Aparecida, 260 kilometers (161 miles) west of the coastal metropolis.                  

The city houses a shrine of the Virgin Mary that is venerated as the patroness of Brazil, home to the biggest Roman Catholic population in the world. It is also the site where Francis, then a cardinal in Argentina, cemented his place as a leader of the Church during a 2007 conference attended by Pope Benedict XVI.                  

The ongoing World Youth Day events, which are expected to attract more than 1 million people from around the world, are an effort by the Vatican to galvanize young Catholics at a time when rival denominations, secularism and distaste over sexual and financial scandals continue to lead some faithful to abandon the Church.                

Security around the pope on Wednesday appeared much more organized than upon his Monday arrival in Rio, where adoring crowds at one point surrounded his car.                   

In Aparecida, where tens of thousands gathered for the pope's first public mass of the visit, Francis rode in a white popemobile with open sides and a transparent top. Security squads kept the vehicle safely within barriers behind which tens of thousands of ecstatic faithful cheered, sang and waved flags.                  

The pope's desire to remain simple and close to his flock has complicated security around his visit, especially after he used a modest Fiat hatchback for his ride into Rio from the airport.                        

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said Vatican and Brazilian officials held what he called "a routine meeting" to discuss how the trip was going and made one change - that Francis would ride in a closed car from Rio airport to a hospital when he returns from Aparecida on Wednesday afternoon.                        

At the indoor Mass in Aparecida, one of Latin America's most popular pilgrimage sites, Francis urged worshippers to embody the faith of their ancestors and trust in God.               

"Let us never lose hope! Let us never allow it to die in our hearts!" the pope said in Portuguese.      


REUTERS