Pope Francis engaged in a virtual dialogue with young university students from across Asia Pacific on 20 June, as part of the “Building Bridges” series organised by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, the Institute for Pastoral Studies, and the Office for Global and Community Engagement at Loyola University Chicago.

Student representatives from Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines; Australian Catholic University, Australia; University of Waikato, New Zealand; Universitas Sanata Dharma, Indonesia; Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan; Sogang University, South Korea; and Sophia University, Japan, participated in the event.

Pope Francis offered insights and encouragement on issues raised by the students, including mental health challenges, racial and gender-based discrimination and violence, social exclusion, and the importance of a sense of belonging, especially within the church.

“Technology can help, but it is not sufficient,” Pope Francis emphasised. “The youth look for a sense of belonging because the human calling—vocation—is that of belonging to something.”

He stressed the importance of knowing one belongs to a group—be it family, friends, society, or religion. “The challenge for a Christian is to know how to participate and belong,” he said. “The heart must be connected to prayer. If you have a clear sense of belonging, you will be able to perfectly dialogue and listen.”

Pope Francis highlighted the vulnerability of today’s youth, pointing out that understanding and accepting one’s vulnerabilities is essential. “You must think about yourselves and realise where your weakest points are, where you are most vulnerable, and allow someone to help you. You must help one another to be stronger in the face of vulnerability,” he said.

The Pope also addressed discrimination, especially due to gender. He praised the abilities and insights of women, describing them as the “best” and “smartest” people. “We live in a culture of machoism, a culture where women are second-class citizens, not as important as men. This is a great disease. We have to fight against it.”

He continued, “It’s a form of closeness that prevents discrimination from happening. We have to be close to one another. The main question is the ability to love, and the ability to love helps us grow. The fact that you can love can help you overcome your fears. No to discrimination, yes to proximity, closeness, and this is what leads us to love. Be able to discriminate between true love and false love and always pick true love,” Pope Francis advised.

The Pope also emphasised the importance of participation in education and society. “A young person may decide not to take part because of personal problems; that’s not good for him. Participation is absolutely paramount. We need education to be in harmony. Harmonised education is about the heart, the mind, and the hands that must be coordinated. By doing so, you think what you feel, and you feel what you do. This is coordination. This is how we should educate the youth,” he explained.

He warned against the dangers of isolation and ideology. “Isolation is harmful to the heart. To avoid isolation and loneliness, we must have a good faith-based education because this can help us to be authentic, real Christians. The journey of faith and of life requires participation, a sense of belonging, prayers, and dialogue. But in order to dialogue, you need a big, open heart.”

The Pope also spoke against ideological thinking, referencing the destructive power of ideologies throughout history. “We live in a culture of ideology, and that’s bad. Ideology ends up owning the sense of reality. We lose the sense of dialogue, of community. It is not in line with the harmony of the human person.”

Instead, Pope Francis called on the students to promote peace. “We have to build harmony in people and make efforts to establish dialogue and harmony with other cultures,” he urged. “We have to sow the seeds of peace in a desperate world. We have hope, and this hope never disappoints us.”

The Holy Father expressed his gratitude to the students. “I thank you for everything you said because it truly allows me to understand better the lives of young people.” He assured them, “I will always be close to you.”

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Watch the full video of Pope Francis dialogue with university students from Asia Pacific here.