BUENOS AIRES: Pope Leo XIV warned young people Tuesday not to be obsessed with looks or lie on social media to win popularity or approval from others.
“Idols arise and demand our worship: success at any cost, money, an obsession with appearance, popularity or the unrestrained pursuit of pleasure,” he said at a youth vigil attended by 1.3 million faithful in Argentina.
He also vowed not to let illness or old age affect his zeal, urging Argentines to “go forth and be saints!”.
The 71-year-old leader of the Catholic Church is on an ambitious 12-day Latin America tour less than a month after he underwent surgery for lung cancer.
“Neither age nor physical limitations can extinguish our zeal,” he said in a rousing speech to Catholic clergy in the northern city of Cordoba.
“Our strength may run out, but God’s power never will!” he said.
The US-born pope had refused to reschedule the trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, despite having the lower part of his right lung removed to extract a cancerous tumour.
With apparently boundless energy, he returned to Buenos Aires Tuesday for a candlelit youth vigil that drew 1.3 million people and featured a show with tango dancers and Argentine singers.
Leo then warned against being obsessed with looks or lying on social media to win popularity or approval from others.
“Idols arise and demand our worship: success at any cost, money, an obsession with appearance, popularity or the unrestrained pursuit of pleasure,” he said.
They must “stand firm” in the face of pleasures “that ultimately enslave us, such as pornography” and drugs, he said.
The message hit home with a crowd that has largely grown up with social media.
Jose Morando, a 19-year-old architecture student, told AFP that there was a “great deal of obsession” with image, with people “criticised for their bodies.”
The South America trip is being seen as a double homecoming of sorts — taking Leo back to Peru, where he spent almost two decades as a missionary, and bringing him to Argentina, birthplace of his predecessor Francis.
Leo has repeatedly evoked Francis, who disappointed many by never returning home as pope.
In a speech to the clergy in Cordoba Tuesday, Leo said Argentine priests could honour their compatriot by continuing to “make noise” and creating vibrant communities of faith, as the number of Catholics wanes in Argentina.
Some 56 per cent of Argentine adults identify as Catholic, according to the Pew Research Center, down from 71 per cent just over a decade ago.