We are called to be 'ambassadors for Christ' (2 Cor 5:20). Ours is a ministry of reconciliation ... To be an ambassador for Christ means above all to invite everyone to a renewed personal encounter with the Lord Jesus.

How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points? This is a case of exclusion.

From the way children are treated society can be judged.

Dear young people, put your talents at the service of the Gospel, with creativity and boundless charity.

Ask yourselves this question: How often is Jesus inside and knocking at the door to be let out, to come out?

REJECT ALL FORMS OF CORRUPTION THAT DIVERT RESOURCES FROM THE POOR

Let Christ turn your natural optimism into Christian hope, your energy into moral virtue, your good will into genuine self-sacrificin g love! This is the path you are called to take. This is the path to overcoming all that threatens hope, virtue and love in your lives and in your culture. In this way your youth will be a gift to Jesus and to the world.