I come from a small village in Guinea, from a small family of three, Dad, Mom, and me. I am the only child. And God took me from this small village to carry me through very winding paths to the heart of the Church today, to Rome. One day, he will call me to account. I took you like little David from this small village...
Each of us must answer to God one day. We have received so much from Him. First, our baptism. I have received so much. I am first and foremost a Christian. My region is an animist region. My country is predominantly Muslim. But God has given me the grace to be a Christian. He has given me the grace to be a priest. He has given me the grace to be a bishop. He has given me the grace to now be with the Holy Father. I will have to answer for myself. And you too, if you hide your faith. Do not let yourselves be drowned in today's world. You are in the world and you are not of the world. Jesus said so. We must passionately love our world. We must not judge our world, but we must bring it to God.
Don't be afraid to be a Christian. Don't be afraid of the Gospel. Don't be ashamed of the Gospel. The Gospel is hard. But all our predecessors died for the Gospel. Even today, there are Christians whose throats are being cut for the Gospel.
This is what I would like to tell you as encouragement. Don't be afraid to be a Christian. Don't be afraid of the Gospel. Don't be ashamed of the Gospel. The Gospel is hard. But all our predecessors died for the Gospel. Even today, there are Christians whose throats are being cut for the Gospel. In Africa, the Middle East, Asia. And you, I wouldn't be here if you hadn't come to my little village. They were missionaries who gave me faith. They died. In my village, two of them arrived. And six months later, one of them died. And certainly his blood made me a Christian, a priest, a bishop, a cardinal. And you too, your parents nourished you in the Christian faith.
The world has changed, but believe me, man has not changed. Adam is exactly like me, with the same ambitions. Adam wanted to be like God. The devil told him, you will be like God. Today too, we want to be like God. And we have already achieved this ambition. The only difference between Adam and us is that we have cell phones. That's all. But the ambitions, the difficulties, the temptations, he was tempted too, Adam was tempted. We are tempted exactly. Qohelet says, there is nothing new under the sun. There is nothing new. Man is the same. The only difference is that we are in abundance. But Adam too was in abundance. He lacked nothing in the earthly paradise.
Let us be courageous. We see before our eyes, on television, people whose throats are being cut for their faith. May this awaken us. May this awaken our faith. Our Eastern Christians do not need our charity. What they need is our faith. May they see that you also have the faith for which they are dying. Certainly, you must give them food, a way to live. But they need the support of your faith.
We see before our eyes, on television, people being slaughtered for their faith. May this awaken us. May this awaken our faith.
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