Whenever and wherever the pope appears in public, young people gravitate to him with genuine affection and enthusiasm. At World Youth Day, papal trips abroad, and weekly audiences at St. Peter’s, young Catholics chant: “John Paul II! We love you!” or “Ben-e-det-to!” – at the awe-inspiring sight of the Successor of St. Peter. John Paul II and Benedict XVI have been moved, in turn, by every new encounter with the young, and they address them with paternal love and respect. The two pontiffs have written thousands of pages of learned philosophy and theology between them, yet their speeches to young people are among the greatest and most accessible statements of the essence of Christianity in the modern era.
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