With flags in hand, thousands of pilgrims filled Eduardo VII Park in Lisbon at 4:15 pm to welcome Pope Francis, who presided over the Welcoming Ceremony of World Youth Day (WYD).
Up and down the street, pilgrims scurried to choose the best spot for their first meeting with the leader of the Catholic Church, lamenting cases of sexual abuse.
“It’s a very bad story. I heard about it, but it was not discussed much in our community,” Anthony Bunly, from Cambodia, told Lusa news agency.
On WYD, the Cambodian said it is a meeting of unity.
“When I joined this event I saw so many flags that I didn’t recognize. Everyone has been showing their flags. And I like to understand what moves people. What moves people? This is my question”, he stressed.
Anthony Bunly explained that, for him, the Catholic event is about faith, love and communion.
“God brought us all here. We come from a small country from a small church, from an old church, from a new church. The important thing for me is the faith and the love of God and being together,” he stressed.
Next to him, with an umbrella to protect himself from the intense sun that illuminates and heats up Eduardo VII Park, appeared Rom Oddan, also from Cambjoda, who is making his WYD debut.
“It’s the first time I participate in WYD. I see many people, good people. The food, the atmosphere. Everything that happens here is perfect,” he said.
Further down, a Brazilian from the state of São Paulo, who is attending WYD for the fourth time, said he was “impressed by the organization of the event and the welcome of the Portuguese people”.
“This is the fourth World Youth Day I have participated in and it has been great to see young people present and witnessing their faith in Jesus Christ,” Christie Fiorentini said.
Considering that the Pope “has a very positive message for modern man”, the São Paulo pilgrim noted that the topic of sexual abuse “is a delicate point”.
“The Pope, from the beginning of his pontificate, has spoken of welcoming. Right now, he wants to welcome, to welcome the wounds. To free people from judgment. This welcome is very important for Jesus. No to judgment, yes to welcoming”, he stressed.
Christie Fiorentini also said she had learned of the list of more than 4,000 victims of sexual abuse by members of the Portuguese Catholic Church, saying “it’s a problem all over the world”.
“We live with a holy and sinful Church. Holy, because it was created by God, and sinful, because it is formed by men. We have to pray for these issues and try to work so that this does not happen anymore,” he said.
Mexican Alfredo Campos, from the state of Chiapas, said he was living “a very beautiful experience”.
“It is the diversity of faith, how Christians express themselves. For me, the richness of the diversity of sharing the faith, and especially with young people, is very exciting,” he said, adding that “it is a dream” to be able to see the Pope.
Lisbon was the city chosen by Pope Francis for this year’s edition of WYD, which ends on Sunday, with more than a million people expected.
