VATICAN CITY, NOV 20, 2004 (VIS) - The Holy Father today welcomed 150 participants in the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Family, which has been meeting for three days in the New Synod Hall on the theme "The Mission of Mature, Experienced Couples with Engaged and Young Married Couples."
The Pope said the council's work "of spreading the 'Gospel of the Family'" is "a noble and decisive mission. The family, founded on marriage, is a natural, irreplaceable institution and a basic element of the common good of every society. Whoever destroys this basic fabric of human coexistence, not respecting its identity and distorting its duties, causes a deep wound to society and provokes often irreparable damages." He noted that the plenary has been reflecting on the council's work on family issues at both national and international levels.
The Holy Father underscored the "singular" mission of married couples and Christian families "in building the Church and the Kingdom of God in history. This mission has lost nothing of its actuality and has, in fact, taken on an urgent nature."
He counseled "a renewed commitment in favor of young families" and newlyweds. It is usually in the early years of marriage, he said, that couples can experience difficulties. It is then that the Church's pastoral ministry for families, and the "discreet, delicate and generous assistance" of older married couples can play an important role in helping young couples overcome the problems associated with the newness of married life and of having children.
"I note with pleasure," added John Paul II, "the growing presence throughout the world of movements in favor of families and of life. ... Ten years ago, in my Letter to Families, I underlined how important the rich experience of other families can be, especially when the 'we' of the parents, the husband and wife, is developed ... into the 'we' of the family, with the precious gift of children."
The Pope concluded his talk with a reference to the Fifth Meeting of Families which the council is helping to plan and which will take place in Valencia, Spain in 2006.
AC/PLENARY:FAMILY/CON:TRUJILLO VIS 20041122 (360)
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