At the end of the twentieth century, the majority of the
population of Latin America is under the age of 30. As this generation of youth
assumes the responsibilities of conducting the affairs of society, it will
encounter a landscape of bewildering contrast. On the one hand, the region can
justly boast brilliant achievements in the intellectual, technological and
economic spheres. On the other, it has failed to reduce widespread poverty or
to avoid a rising sea of violence that threatens to submerge its peoples. Why -
and the question needs to be asked plainly -- has this society been impotent,
despite its great wealth, to remove the injustices that are tearing its fiber apart?
The answer to this question, as amply evidenced by decades
of contentious history, cannot be found in political passion, conflicting
expressions of class interest, or technical recipes. What is called for is a
spiritual revival, as a prerequisite to the successful application of
political, economic and technological instruments. But there is a need for a
catalyst. Be assured that, in spite of your small numbers, you are the channels
through which such a catalyst can be provided.
Be not dismayed if your endeavors are dismissed as utopian
by the voices that would oppose any suggestion of fundamental change. Trust in
the capacity of this generation to disentangle itself from the embroilments of
a divided society. To discharge your responsibilities, you will have to show
forth courage, the courage of those who cling to standards of rectitude, whose
lives are characterized by purity of thought and action, and whose purpose is
directed by love and indomitable faith. As you dedicate yourselves to healing the
wounds with which your peoples have been afflicted, you will become invincible
champions of justice.
- The Universal House of Justice (From a message dated 8
January 2000 ‘To the Friends gathered at the Youth Congress in Paraguay’)
