Because politics is “the highest form of charity,”
Because injustice angers us and indifference saddens us,
Because we feel the same “political passion,”
We give our lives for justice and peace, through our political commitment.

Because large, generous ideas need to be put into practice in concrete realisations
Because we’re not afraid to face reality and to make mistakes,
From today we commit our time, our energy and our talents to the service of others.

Because we need politicians who “truly have a heart for society,
the people, the lives of the poor” (Evangelii Gaudium 205),
Because the family is the best building block of society,
We give priority to serving families and the poorest.

Because the protection of our common home is now
a question of life or death,
Because consuming less and living well has become revolutionary,
Because we are limited beings, and happy to be so.
Without waiting any longer,
we choose a moderate and joyful lifestyle.

Because the spiritual emptiness of a society opens the way for the worst,
Because it takes time to make a human being,
Because we want to build on our cultural heritage in order to be creative today,
We commit ourselves to learn and to study, and to help others to do the same.

Because we are not immune to the temptations of money, seduction and power,
Because the evil that we fight also has its roots within us,
We let ourselves be deeply reconciled.

Because violence breeds violence,
Because we want to build bridges rather than walls,
We learn to forgive our enemies.

Because the immediate and the virtual isolate us,
Because we need a place to be real and to build trust,
Because alone we can go faster but together we can go further,
We choose to live in fraternity.

Because our cultures, opinions and political leanings are not absolute,
Because it is possible to live peacefully with our disagreements (to ‘disagree well’),
Because encountering others who are different from us makes us smarter,
We make diversity a foundation of our fraternity.

TOGETHER WE WANT TO RESTORE THE WORLD

This manifesto, written by the members of the Politics Fraternity,
was proclaimed on Sunday July 24, 2016 at the Atlas Arena in Lódz (Poland),
in front of 8,000 young people from 79 countries,
participating in the World Youth Days.