Pope Francis is using his first trip to Mexico as leader of the Catholic Church to combat drug violence. In a deeply religious country, he’s invoking the teachings of Jesus to break the stranglehold of drug cartels.

"Jesus would never ask us to be hit men," the pope said. "He would never send us out to death." In a speech in Morelia, the capital of Michoacan, the pope spoke of Jesus’ generosity and love, reminding the crowd that his principles are incompatible with vicious drug cartels.

His message was primarily directed at young people in poverty. Those tempted by easy drug money, who flock to gangs and end up carrying out the daily carnage that has plagued the country for the past decade.

"It is a lie to believe that the only way to live, or to be young, is to entrust oneself to drug dealers or others who do nothing but sow destruction and death," he told young people at a stadium rally in Morelia, the capital of Michoacan.

But many people have embraced the lie of the cartels, causing more than 100,000 people to die from gang violence in Mexico over the past decade. Countless more have been kidnapped, beaten, intimidated, harassed, extorted and more.

Pope Francis tells Mexico's indigenous peoples: 'Sorry Brothers' https://t.co/bgSIWswbJhpic.twitter.com/MyIz4o5Vht

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It’s no exaggeration to say that cartels have thoroughly infiltrated Mexico’s civil society and in many towns and cities they are the de-facto leaders.

Even (or maybe especially) the forces meant to keep them in check have been thoroughly subverted. That’s why the country’s most notorious drug lord, El Chapo, has been able to escape from prison twice.

While the pope is calling on young people to avoid gangs, to be good people, he also understands that it’s not that easy. Oftentimes, teenagers and their families are threatened if they do not join gangs.

So he also has a message for politicians, religious leaders and those running the private sector: stop coddling drug gangs and start providing real opportunities to young people.

Mexico has a poverty rate of 46.2%. That’s 55.3 million people struggling to get by. That’s millions of people vulnerable to the sway of cartels.

The pope knows that the most effective way to fight cartels is with jobs and educational opportunities.

The cartels, of course, know this as well and that’s why they undercut efforts at development.

But the pope’s message is being received by people eager for change and sick of the endless violence and fear.

When Pope Francis spoke at a crowded stadium in Morelia, those in attendance counted aloud to 43, an ode to the 43 students who were murdered in 2014 by a gang working alongside the local police.

The Missing 43 have become a touchpoint for the Mexican people, a symbol of the worst that can happen, of the lowest the country could sink to. And the memory of the missing students has acted as a sort of ladder for the people, each remembered name, each retrieved story, a rung leading out of the pit of fear.

Now, Pope Francis is continuing his global activism by lending a hand to lift the people of Mexico up.

As he rounds out his 6-day trip, there is hope that inspiring words and teachings can give the people the strength to take control of their country and pull themselves out of poverty.