ROME (CNS) - Pope Francis asked 45,000 children preparing for confirmation to promise Jesus they would never engage in bullying.
[caption id="attachment_22475" align="alignright" width="250"] Pope Francis greets the crowd during an encounter with confirmation candidates at San Siro Stadium in Milan March 25. (CNS photo/Stefano Rellandini, Reuters) See POPE-MILAN-MASS-YOUTH March 25, 2017.[/caption]
Turning stern during a lively and laughter-filled encounter March 25, Pope Francis told the youngsters he was very worried about the growing phenomenon of bullying.
He asked them to be silent and reflect on if there were times when they made fun of someone for how they looked or behaved. And, as a condition of their confirmation, he made them promise Jesus that they would never tease or bully anyone.
The pope ended his daylong visit to Milan by participating in an expanded version of the archdiocese's annual encounter for pre-teens preparing for confirmation. An estimated 78,000 people filled the city's famed San Siro soccer stadium; the archdiocese expects to confirm about 45,000 young people this year.
A boy named Davide asked the pope, "When you were our age, what helped your friendship with Jesus grow?"
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