TURIN, Italy, June 22, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) — Meeting with young people on his papal visit to Turin, Italy, on Sunday, Pope Francis urged youth to refrain from all sexual activity outside of marriage.
The pope began asking the youth to allow him to speak truthfully. “I do not want to be a moralist,” he said, adding that he was going to say “a word I do not like, an unpopular word.” Even the pope, he added, “must sometimes take a risk to tell the truth.” That unpopular word — “be chaste” — he repeated twice.
The Holy Father spoke of love as actions and not only words, as well as communication, which he said includes listening and responding, dialogue and communion.
The pope said the virtue of chastity is “very difficult” but it is a genuine and life-giving love “that does not try to use the other person for one’s own pleasure.” It’s a love, he said, that is considerate of the sacredness of the other person, that says “I do not want to use you.” He admitted that it is not easy and that there are many difficulties in overcoming “hedonistic love.” Asking forgiveness again for saying the unexpected, he added, “But I ask you, make the effort to live a chaste love.”
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From this effort of chastity, the pope said comes a love that is respectful, a love that is shown in action, a love that communicates, a love that is sacrifice for others.
Francis gave the example of parents, “many mothers and fathers who come to work in the morning tired because they have not slept well having had to take care of their sick child – this is love!” he said. Thus another key word or aspect of love he said is ‘service’. “Love is service.” When we say we love each other and we do not serve, we do not sacrifice for each other, this is not love, said the pope.
Speaking of the example of Christ’s washing the feet of his apostles and His sacrifice on the cross, the pope said, “The story of God's love involved action and dialogue, respect, forgiveness, patience during the many centuries of history with his people, ending with [the sacrifice of] His Son on the cross, the greatest service, which is to give one’s life, to sacrifice, to help others.”
“It is not easy to talk about love, it is not easy to live love,” he concluded.
See the pope's official full address with youth (in Italian) here.
See a full English translation here