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Good morning

Yesterday Pope Francis began his first day at the 28th World Youth Day in Rio De Jeneiro, Brazil.

Since its inauguration in 1984, the triennial event has drawn together young Catholics from across the world for spiritual renewal, affirmation of their Catholic faith, and a focus on the Church’s mission in the world. This event will be of particular significance for the Pope, returning to Latin America for the first time since his appointment as head of the Catholic Church earlier this year.

In an age when old and young often stand in stark contrast, there’s something curiously reassuring about youngsters turning out in their hundreds of thousands to learn from a senior cleric presenting an old faith.

With 2 million youngsters gathering from across the world and well over a million ‘likes’ on FaceBook, it’s hard to dismiss the event out of hand. It has become a symbol of resistance to secularism and a positive signal of faith in action among young people.

But of course, not everybody believes in symbols. Events such as these are not without their critics – even from other people of faith.

What’s the point, one might ask, of such symbolic gatherings hosted in a nation which is being torn apart by social unrest, youth unemployment and a political culture, which is evidently failing the test of public scrutiny?...

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