VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service – Bolletino
[Unofficial translation]
Introduction
Part I
Listening: the context and challenges to the family
The socio-cultural context
The relevance of emotional life
Pastoral challenges
Part II
The gaze on Christ: the Gospel of the Family
The gaze on Jesus and gradualness in the history of salvation
The family in God’s salvific plan
The discernment of values present in wounded families and irregular situations
Truth and beauty of the family and mercy
Part III
Discussion: pastoral perspectives
Proclaiming the Gospel of the family today, in various contexts
Guiding couples on the path in preparation for marriage
Accompanying the first years of married life
Positive aspects of civil unions and cohabitation
Caring for wounded families (separated couples, the divorced who
have not remarried, the divorced and remarried)
Welcoming homosexual persons
The transmission of life and the challenge of declining birthrate
The challenge of education and the role of the family in evangelization
Conclusion
* * *
Introduction
1. During the prayer vigil held in St Peter’s Square on 4 October 2014 in preparation for the Synod on the family, Pope Francis evoked the centrality of the experience of family in all lives, in a simple and concrete manner: “Evening falls on our assembly. It is the hour at which one willingly returns home to meet at the same table, in the depth of affection, of the good that has been done and received, of the encounters which warm the heart and make it grow, good wine which hastens the unending feast in the days of man. It is also the weightiest hour for one who finds himself face to face with his own loneliness, in the bitter twilight of shattered dreams and broken plans; how many people trudge through the day in the blind alley of resignation, of abandonment, even resentment: in how many homes the wine of joy has been less plentiful, and therefore, also the zest — the very wisdom — for life […]. Let us make our prayer heard for one another this evening, a prayer for all”.
2. The source of joys and trials, of deep affections and relations – at times wounded – the family is truly a “school of humanity” (“Familia schola quaedam uberioris humanitatis est”, Vatican Council II, Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, 52), of which we are in great need. Despite the many signs of crisis in the institution of the family in various contexts of the “global village”, the desire for family remains alive, especially among the young, and is at the root of the Church’s need to proclaim tirelessly and with profound conviction the “Gospel of the family” entrusted to her with the revelation of God’s love in Jesus Christ.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.