Pope Francis has reiterated his desire to travel to Argentina in 2024, his native country where he has not been able to return since being appointed Pontiff in 2013. 

He made the announcement during a meeting with young people from Scholas Ocurrentes for the foundation’s tenth anniversary, which the Holy Father transformed into a “private association of the faithful” just a year ago. 

“Are there plans to visit Argentina soon?” he was asked during the event held at the Augustinianum auditorium in the Vatican. “The idea is to go next year,” replied Pope Francis. 

It is worth remembering that last April, the Holy Father had already expressed this desire in an interview with the Argentine newspaper La Nación. 

“I always wanted to return to the country,” Pope Francis shared on that occasion, also asking, “Please do not link me to Argentine politics.” 

During the May 25 meeting, in which the Holy Father answered various questions from young people from countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Spain, Argentina, and the United States, he also warned about the danger of pornography, which he defined as “the crassest commercialization of love.” “A person who loves does not like to be interpreted in that way,” he affirmed. 

He also spoke about the importance of “authenticity” in young people, which allows “a person to express themselves as they are.” He stressed that “all young people have a duty to be authentic and that their authenticity should be respected.” 

The Holy Father also talked about crises and noted that they must be identified to be overcome. He added that one cannot overcome a crisis alone and that one comes out of it either better or worse. 

In response to a question from an elderly woman from Granada, Spain, Pope Francis spoke about his close relationship with his grandparents. He emphasized, as he has on other occasions, that “a society goes bad when it breaks its connection with its roots. If we do not receive the sap, we dry up.” 

Thus, he stated that “older people do not have the right to die alone” and warned that “a society that neglects this does not survive; it becomes ideological.”