VATICAN CITY (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV urged educators to recognize the challenges facing young people today, saying many struggle with “digital loneliness,” broken families and feeling “paralyzed by the fear of making mistakes” when performance-driven culture turns ruthless.

Addressing participants in the Vatican’s student ministry conference Oct. 22, the pope said many students may feel “anonymous” as they “walk the halls of our schools and universities.”

“How many students also face existential hardship: broken families, digital loneliness, feelings of inadequacy or fear in the face of a future that seems uncertain,” Pope Leo said.

He added that “quite a few young people today are virtually paralyzed by the fear of making mistakes, of not measuring up, of being misunderstood, or of failing to meet expectations.”

‘Misguided meritocracy ultimately fails to respect people’

“We live in a performance-driven culture that constantly compares and ranks people, sometimes ruthlessly,” he said. “A misguided meritocracy ultimately fails to respect people. This is why many end up giving up before they even try.”

In light of these challenges, the pope said Catholic schools and universities must be “first and foremost a home,” where students feel known, welcomed and valued.

A welcoming environment, he said, is one in which someone “looks you in the eye, remembers your name, notices your absence, and rejoices at your return.”

“Beneath the armor that so many teenagers build around themselves to avoid suffering lies the desire to love and be loved,” the pope said.

“Pastoral ministry in schools and universities will be all the more fruitful the more it focuses on educating the heart — educating the heart in compassion, gratitude, and the ability to be moved by the suffering of others; educating it in praise and the longing for God,” he added.

Volunteer work is ‘where heart learns to expand’

The pope recommended service to the poor and volunteer work as experiences “where the heart learns to expand,” urging student ministers to help form young people “to become pioneers of a new way of living in the world.”

“Pastoral ministry in schools and universities is called to accompany the slow germination of thought, to teach discernment, and to encourage perseverance in the search for truth,” Pope Leo said. 

He explained that in “a welcoming environment, students can express their deep desire to understand and to make sense of reality,” adding that  “this is where the true vocation of schools and universities comes into play: the shared search for truth.”

“Courage springs from a covenant of trust: from the experience of someone who believes in you before you believe in yourself,” he said. “Jesus did not choose the Twelve because they were courageous; he called them and, through his trust in them, made them capable.”

Organized by Dicastery for Culture and Education

The pope met with participants in the International Congress for Pastoral Care in Schools and Universities taking place at the Vatican Oct. 22-23. Organized by the Dicastery for Culture and Education, the congress featured speakers from Haiti, Colombia, Chile, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Spain, Lebanon and Zimbabwe. Discussions focused on cultivating interiority, technology, and educating for peace. 

The final day of the conference Oct. 23 included discussion of how digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, are changing school environments. Many of the speeches from the congress are available online.  

“Dear brothers and sisters, false teachers and deceptive messages promise to provide quick answers to young people’s questions,” Pope Leo said.

“You, however, have chosen to do something greater: to walk with them along the way, until they discover the gifts that God has already placed within them.”

Courtney Mares is Vatican editor for OSV News. Follow her on X @catholicourtney.