Vatican City, 25 March 2014 (VIS) –
This morning in the Holy See Press Office Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia,
president of the Pontifical Council for the Family and Archbishop
Charles Joseph Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. of Philadelphia, U.S.A., presented
the eighth World Meeting of Families, which will take place from 22
to 27 September 2015 in Philadelphia, U.S.A.
The president of the Pontifical Council
for the Family explained that the meeting will occur at very
important moment in the life of the Church, as Pope Francis has
focused attention on the theme of the family, to which he dedicated
this February's Consistory, and which will be the theme of the next
Synod in October. Other examples are last year's Family Pilgrimage of
the Year of Faith on 26 and 27 October 2013, the 11th plenary
assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Family, the Holy Father's
encounter with engaged couples on 14 February 2014, and the Pope's
Letter to Families, a series of events and initiatives that coincide
with the United Nations' convocation of the Year of the Family.
“The Philadelphia meeting aims first
to gather the Churches of the America, and it is encouraging
participation by all the diverse cultures, from Alaska to Tierra del
Fuego, that people this vast continent”, continued the prelate.
“There is no doubt that the presence on the Chair of Peter of the
first Latin American Pope makes the event even more meaningful. …
The starting point and the guide for this journey are given to us by
Pope Francis: 'the beauty of the family and of marriage, the grandeur
of a reality both simple and profound, a combination of joy, hope,
burdens and suffering, just like the rest of life. We will seek to
deepen our understanding of the theology of the family and of the
pastoral care that we must exercise in today's world. … Our task is
to show the world God's shining plan for families, to help married
couples live out that plan with joy, and to be there for them with a
shepherd's care that is wise, brave and full of love”.
“This is what we will do as we look
towards the meeting in Philadelphia: we will be there for all the
families of the world with a shepherd's care that is 'wise, brave and
full of love'. Wisdom in understanding what families face today,
bravery in taking on today's many and complex problems, and love in
helping to resolve those problems in the light of the Gospel of the
family and of life. We will deal with many issues in our wise, brave
and loving work together: theology of the family, married
spirituality and holiness, ecclesiology and pastoral care for
families, the family in contemporary culture, immigration and the
family, and the family and ecumenism. These are some of the routes
and areas of common work that we will pursue with wisdom, bravery and
love”.
“We would also hope that the meeting
in Philadelphia sees a broad and active presence from the other
Christian Churches and communities, as well as from representatives
of the world's other great religions, together with other men and
women who, though not religious, are committed to bringing peace and
goodwill to our world. May our coming together for the family
encourage all peoples to remember that we are one family of humankind
and that it is together as a family that we must walk the path to
true happiness”, he concluded.