The street protests involving hundreds of thousands of mostly young people in cities across Brazil, and in other countries, are a sign of the youths’ desire for a more just world, but Christians must ensure the protests are peaceful and that efforts to improve society are guided by Christian values, Pope Francis said.

Everyone connected to disability, writes Barbara Harris, is invited to a free forum on Tuesday, July 30 – a chance to meet and talk with others…

Acknowledging the Catholic Church’s heavy loss of members in Brazil over recent decades, Pope Francis told the country’s bishops that they must learn to understand and sympathize with the reasons for people’s disaffection and speak to them in a simpler language of beauty, mystery and love.

In the sea of young people on Copacabana beach were many who said faith is ageless. “There is no age limit for youth.,” said Cynthia Doss, 54. “You are always as young as you feel, and age does not have an effect on our faith.”

With his cross and resurrection, Christ promises to walk with and ease the burden of every suffering person, whether that suffering comes from violence, addiction, a broken family, hunger, persecution or the death of a loved one, Pope Francis said.

With the young pilgrims of World Youth Day, Pope Francis was encouraging and challenging; with the bishops, priests and religious who minister to them he was firm and blunt.

Krakow, Poland, will be the site of the next World Youth Day, in 2016. Pope Francis made the announcement shortly after celebrating the final Mass of this year’s World Youth Day before a crowd of more than 3 million people on Copacabana beach.

Pope Francis spent the morning and early afternoon of July 26 with about two dozen young people from different countries and diverse backgrounds, in a range of encounters that illustrated his characteristic emphasis on inclusion and reconciliation.

The 76-year-old Pope Francis went to World Youth Day with grandparents, or at least society’s elders, on his mind, and he honored them in a special way July 26, the feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne and Grandparents Day in many countries.

One million people braved the rain to hear Pope Francis that evening on the beach for a World Youth Day welcoming ceremony. Despite problems with transport and loudspeakers, pilgrims stood patiently and cheered at the pope’s words.