For this reason, we cannot approach the issue of mental health solely as a clinical or technical matter. Undoubtedly, the contributions of science, psychology, medicine and the neurosciences are indispensable. But we also believe that human beings can live authentically—and overcome so many inner frailties—within a horizon of meaning.
When this horizon darkens, inner emptiness, isolation and despair increase. When, on the other hand, a person discovers that their life has value, that they are loved, awaited and called to a task in the world, then hope is born. And hope is not a naive illusion: it is a spiritual force that sustains life, even in the most difficult moments.
That is why I wanted to include, amongst the objectives of the Global Education Compact, the goal of cultivating inner life. Indeed, it is not enough to connect young people to digital networks if they then remain disconnected from themselves, from others and from their own inner selves. Cultivating the inner life means helping the younger generations to rediscover silence, reflection, the ability to ask questions, the depth of relationships and openness to the transcendent. To listen to the soul, one must sharpen one’s hearing, for its voice is not
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