Pope Francis told hundreds of thousands of pilgrims Sunday in Krakow, Poland to "believe in a new humanity" that does not use borders as roadblocks and rejects hatred for each other.
Francis addressed the congregants, who had traveled from all over the world, on a large field on the last of his five day visit to southern Poland.
In an acknowledgement to a world dominated by the Internet, Francis urged the crowd to "download the best link of all, that of a heart which sees and transmits goodness without growing weary."
Later, on the plane back to Rome, reporters asked Francis why he has never used the word "Islam" when denouncing terrorism. "I don't think it is right to equate Islam with violence," the pope said. “In almost every religion there is always a small group of fundamentalists. We have them too… If I have to talk about Islamic violence I have to talk about Christian violence. Every day in the newspapers I see violence in Italy, someone kills his girlfriend, another kills his mother-in-law, and these are baptized Catholics."
Faithful wait for the arrival of Pope Francis on the occasion of a mass at conclusion of the World Youth Day inKrakow, Poland, July 31, 2016.
Francis' visit to Poland included a stop Saturday night at the Auschwitz death camp and an impromptu prayer stop at a Krakow church for victims of terrorism. Francis condemned the "devastating wave of terrorism" and wars in regions throughout the world.
The events were organized by members of the 2016 World Youth Day, who estimated the final events were attended by 2.5 to three million people. Polish police estimated the crowds at more than 1.5 million.
The Catholic Church's next World Youth Day will be held in Panama in 2019.
Some material for this report came from AP, AFP and Reuters.