Pope Francis of the Catholic Church condemned terrorism and wars that have hit the world countries, urging young people to help alleviating the suffering of others. 

Thousands of people have attended a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis at a church dedicated to the late Pope John Paul II in the Polish city of Krakow, the BBC reported.

The Pope called for clergy to leave their comfort zones and tend to the needy on the peripheries of life.

He is on a five-day visit to Poland to mark the 1,050th anniversary of the country's adoption of Christianity.

He is also taking part in World Youth Day, a global celebration for young Catholics.

On Saturday evening, the pontiff was attending a youth prayer vigil with hundreds of thousands of pilgrims gathered in a meadow outside Krakow. 

The vigil includes songs, dances and historical re-enactments.

The Pope asked the young people to pray for those suffering in the civil war in Syria.

“Dear young people, we didn’t come into the world to vegetate ... We came for another reason: to leave a mark,” he said.

“The times we live in do not call for young couch potatoes but for young people with shoes, or better, boots laced.”

Francis, 79, said being constantly glued to screens – where the terrible events of the world become just another story on the evening news – numbed youngsters to the suffering of others.

Pope Francis began his day with a visit to the Divine Mercy Sanctuary, consecrated by John Paul II during his last visit to Poland in 2003.

Source : MENA