Speaking to journalists aboard his return flight from Krakow, Poland, July 31, the pope also stressed that violence exists in all religions, including Catholicism, and it cannot be pinned to one single religion.

“I do not like to speak of Islamic violence because everyday when I look through the papers, I see violence here in Italy,” the pope told reporters. “And they are baptized Catholics. There are violent Catholics. If I speak of Islamic violence, I also have to speak of Catholic violence,” he added.

Spending about 30 minutes with reporters and responding to six questions, Pope Francis was asked to elaborate on comments he had made flying to Poland July 27 when he told the journalists that religions are not at war and want peace.

The pope’s initial comment came in speaking about the murder July 26 of an elderly priest during Mass in a Catholic church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, France. Two men, armed with knives, entered the church during Mass. The attackers murdered 84-year-old Father Jacques Hamel, slitting his throat. The Islamic State group later claimed responsibility for the murder.

Although the death of the French priest was committed in the name of Islam, the pope said that it is unfair to label an entire religion violent because of the actions of a few fundamentalists.

“One thing is true. I believe that in almost all religions, there is always a small fundamentalist group. We have them, too,” the pope said. “When fundamentalism goes to the point of killing — you can even kill with the tongue. This is what St. James says, but (you can kill) also with a knife. ”

“I do not think it is right to identify Islam with violence. This is not right and it is not true,” he said.

Instead, the pope said, that those who choose to enter fundamentalists groups, such as the Islamic State, do so because “they have been left empty” of ideals, work and values.

The pope was also asked about accusations of sexual abuse made against Australian Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy.

Pope Francis said the accusations are unclear, but are in the hands of investigators. He also warned against deeming alleged accusations true or false before they are investigated thoroughly.

“If I would give a verdict for or against Cardinal Pell, it would not be good because I would judge prematurely,” he said. “We should wait for justice and not judge beforehand (or) a verdict by the press, a verdict based on gossip.”

Pope Francis was also asked if he was all right after he stumbled and fell during Mass outside the Marian shrine of Jasna Gora in Czestochowa July 28. He missed a step as he was blessing the altar and an image of Mary with incense.

“I was looking at the Madonna and I forgot about the step,” he recalled. “I had the thurible in my hand and I just let myself fall. If I had tried to resist, then there would have been consequences.”

Regarding his ability to speak and relate to young people, the pope told journalists that he likes to talking them “because they tell me things that I never thought about before or that I never thought through.”

He also emphasized the importance of a “dialogue between past and future” and said older and younger generations must learn to speak to and learn from each other.

“Listen to them, speak to them because they must learn from us and we must learn from them. That is how history is made, that is how we grow. Without closing them off, without censuring them,” Pope Francis said.

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Like a soccer match, life “only takes players on the first string and has no room for benchwarmers,” the pope young people at the World Youth Day prayer vigil July 30. “Today’s world demands that you be a protagonist of history, because life is always beautiful when we choose to live it fully, when we choose to leave a mark.”

Organizers said up to 1.6 million youths from around the world — many of whom walked more than four miles to the Field of Mercy — attended the prayer vigil with the pope.

Arriving in his popemobile, Pope Francis waved at the throngs of young people who stretched out their hands. Stopping at a wooden Door of Mercy inscribed with the words “Jesus, I trust in you” in five languages, he was greeted by several young men and women. Hand-in-hand with the pope, they entered through the door.

The pope then surprised the youths by inviting them aboard the popemobile. Visibly emotional and wide-eyed, the youths boarded the vehicle and joined Pope Francis, waving at the crowd.

After taking his place on the stage, young people from Poland, Syria and Paraguay gave their experiences of finding hope in the midst of disbelief, war and addiction.

Natalia, a young Polish woman from Lodz, spoke of her experience of encountering the love of God through the sacrament of reconciliation after 20 years of “not having anything in common with the church.”

“Going to confession, I was convinced of having irredeemably lost eternal life. Instead, I had heard that God had made everything evil I had done disappear forever,” she said.

Rand Mittri, a 26-year-old Syrian woman from Aleppo, shared the pain and sorrow that comes from seeing her city “destroyed, ruined and broken.”

“The meaning in our lives has been canceled. We are the forgotten city,” she said.

Mittri went on to describe how she and many families live in constant fear of leaving their homes, not knowing when disaster will strike.

“Perhaps we will be killed that day. Or perhaps our families will. It is a hard and painful feeling to know that you are surrounded by death and killing, and there is no way to escape, no one to help,” she recounted.

Despite the horror she faces daily, Mittri said she learned her faith in Jesus “supersedes the circumstances” and that with each passing day she believes “God exists despite all of our pain.”

“Jesus, I trust in you,” she concluded.

Miguel from Asuncion, Paraguay, gave the final testimony of the evening, recounting his 16-year struggle with drug addiction.

Beginning to experiment with drugs at age 11 and imprisoned for a crime by 15, Miguel said he continued committing crimes until he was eventually imprisoned for six years.

A priest, he said, took him to a halfway house in Brazil, Fazenda de la Esperanza, where he learned to live as a family with his fellow companions.

“I recovered 10 years ago and today I am responsible for ‘Quo Vadis’ house of Fazenda de la Esperanza in Cerro Chato, Uruguay, for the past three years,” he said.

Between the testimonies, dancers performed. A woman depicting St. Faustina Kowalska looked on in disbelief as youths in glass boxes were fixated on their cellphones and tablets. A young woman dressed in white danced around them, beckoning them to come out.

Another performance on the beauty of forgiveness recreated the scene in which St. John Paul II sat down with would-be assassin Mehmet Ali Agca in his prison cell and forgave him.

After listening to their experiences, Pope Francis addressed the youths, calling on them first to not be absorbed by their cellphones and computers and to think about those, like Mittri, who live through violence and war daily.

“They have a name, they have a face, they have a story, they are close at hand,” he said forcefully.

Recalling Natalia and Miguel’s experiences, the pope thanked them for sharing their struggles and said they are a “living sign of what God’s mercy wants to accomplish in us.”

In a world beset by conflict, terror and death, he continued, brotherhood and communion remain the only true response.

The pope then invited everyone present to hold hands and pray silently, asking them to “place before the Lord your own battles, the interior struggles that each of you carries in his or her heart.”

Silence descended on the field as the pope bowed and joined the youths in prayer.

Pope Francis continued his address by warning the pilgrims to not fall into a “paralysis that comes from confusing happiness with a sofa.” This sofa that promises comfort, safety and relaxation, he said, instead is an “insidious form of paralysis” that makes young men and women become “dull and drowsy.”

Pope Francis encouraged the pilgrims, reminding them they are not called to “vegetate” in life but to leave a mark in the world.

“When we opt for ease and convenience, for confusing happiness with consumption, then we end up paying a high price indeed: We lose our freedom,” he said.

He invited them to instead embark on the “path of ‘craziness’ of our God” that urges Christians to practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

Like Miguel, who discovered God’s calling by helping others at the halfway house, the pope said God is also calling them, encouraging them to dream.

“He wants to make you see that, with you, the world can be different. For the fact is, unless you offer the best of yourselves, the world will never be different,” he said.

However, the pope also called on adults to teach younger generations “how to live in diversity, in dialogue, to experience multiculturalism, not as a threat but an opportunity.”

Young people, he said, must “be our accusers if we choose a life of walls, a life of enmity, a life of war.”

“Have the courage to teach us that it is easier to build bridges than walls. We need this,” he said.

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The pope expressed his “deep sorrow” and “spiritual closeness” with the French people in a message to Bishop Andre Marceau of Nice. The message, signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, said Pope Francis entrusted the victims and their families to God’s mercy.

“The pope expresses his sympathy to those injured and to all those who have contributed to rescue efforts, asking the Lord to sustain each one in this trial,” the cardinal wrote. He said Pope Francis imparted his blessing on grieving families while invoking “God’s gift of peace and harmony” upon the people of France.

France declared three days of mourning and extended its state of emergency after the July 14 attack along Nice’s seaside promenade; more than 80 people were killed and the death toll was mounting. The three days of mourning were to begin July 16.

Bishop Marceau told Vatican Radio he experienced shock and fear following news of the terrorist attack.

“(The attack) was one of those insane acts that can arise in the hearts of men — and in this case, one man. How can it be reasonably possible that man can be the author of such carnage?” he asked.

The bishop said he hoped compassion and closeness would overcome the “scandal of evil” that might “rightly arouse hate, misunderstanding and closed-mindedness.”

“We must find a way to avoid this at all cost,” he told Vatican Radio. “The message I bring is that which, above all, calls people to be close to one another, to speak, to meet with each other.”

In a statement posted on the French bishops’ website, he said: “We can’t understand such an inhuman act. Nothing can legitimize deadly craziness, barbarism.”

He urged people not to keep their emotions bottled up. “Let’ not hesitate to tell each other what hurts our hearts; this is what being human is.”

“Don’t be afraid to go meet priests, people that can help you. Don’t keep for yourself what might become violence, hate maybe. This man cannot succeed in arousing what was in his own heart,” he said.

Adding that churches in Nice will be open for continuous prayer, Bishop Marceau said that in times of distress, the key word guiding the Catholic Church’s mission is “closeness.” The church is called “to be close and to also have the courage to take (people) by the hand, because words often can’t be understood. It is difficult, but we are there.”

“Christians, Catholics, let us bring around us this message of love. Our brothers need it. We need it. Our society needs it,” he said. “Let us bring a message that tells the strength of the heart of man. Death will not have the last word.”

Reaction from church leaders in France came quickly.

Msgr. Olivier Dumas Ribadeau, secretary general of the French bishops’ conference, called for solidarity and prayer in a post on Twitter early July 15. French bishops reacted to the tragedy on social media and in statements, calling on people to pray for the victims and their families.

Churches around France set up special Masses. In Paris, Notre Dame Cathedral scheduled a Mass July 17 to commemorate the victims.

The French bishops’ conference said it “fully shares the grief of relatives and families of the victims.”

“This tragedy is added to the sad list of terrorist acts that have marred our country and other countries in the world for many months,” the bishops said. “Whatever the reason, this barbarism is unacceptable, intolerable. … More than ever, national solidarity must be stronger than terrorism. In pain of the day, we need to keep the certainty that unity is greater than division.”

Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, prayed for wisdom as people in the United States “seek the best way to help in the days ahead.”

He thanked God for the first responders and prayed for the families and the dead. He also expressed solidarity with the people of Nice.

“The more cooperation exists between governments and citizens, the more we will frustrate the forces of evil,” he said.

Appalled by the dramatic news of the attack in Nice, the Belgian bishops said they shared the emotions of their southern neighbors and assured them of their unity in prayer.

“May real encounters consolidate the bonds of fraternity and respect between all citizens,” they said.

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Contributing to this story was Philippe Vaillancourt, editor of Presence info in Montreal.

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