Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Mexico City (Agenzia Fides) – Bishop Enrique Glennie, Secretary General of the VI World Meeting of Families, in a press conference presented the most recent progress being made in the preparation of the Encounter scheduled to take place in Mexico City, January 13-18, 2009.
Bishop Glennie recalled how the VI WMF is a great celebration that allows the Church to unite every three years to reflect on the family as the educator of human and Christian values, which the world is so in need of today. “In society, we see the fruits of what has been sown in the family. And as a result, what is not sown in the family has irreversible consequences on society,” he said. And there, we see the importance of focusing on values, which is “the part that helps not only to be what one should, but to be good parents, in every sense of the word.” In fact, he affirmed that the World Family Encounter is an occasion for all families – Catholic and non – to be better and to defend this basic cell of society, given the attacks suffered in the world today. He clarified the fact that “the family is not something exclusive to the Church,” which means that all sectors of society are invited to promote and defend the family as the fruit of a marriage between a man and a woman. “The WMF should help us to locate the sore spot. There are many aggressions on the family, marriage, and respect for life. Any aggression on any of these three aspects wounds the family, in the end.”
As to the Events of the WMF, Bishop Glennie explained that the WMF organizes various events over the course of the six days. The first is the VI Pastoral Theological Congress, January 14-16, which will host the ecclesiastical delegations from the majority of the Bishops’ Conferences in the world and the families on the 5 continents. The Congress will be opened by Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family and by Cardinal Norberto Rivera, Archbishop of Mexico. During the Congress, there will be various conferences given by world-renowned speakers in the morning session. In the afternoon, there will be workshops on various themes including biblical, moral, social, educational, legislative, and more, which will serve to help families be real educators in values. Some 10,000 people are expected to attend this Congress.
During the Congress and at the same location, there will be a Family Expo, to promote all the work that from various areas the religious associations and lay movements, university groups, companies and publishing houses are all doing, to offer all members of the family the chance to reach their objectives.
The WMF will continue with a Testimonial Encounter on Saturday, January 17 in the afternoon, in the atrium of the Basilica of Guadalupe, as an opportunity for all the families of various continents to share how they live and transmit human and Christian values in different social-cultural contexts. There will also be cultural and artistic interventions, as well as the praying of the Holy Rosary. The Encounter will end with a special Closing Mass on January 18, at 9:30am, in which Benedict XVI will give a Message to those present. In the last two days, a large crowd of participants is expected.
Bishop Glennie also recalled that the Pontifical Council for the Family has distributed 10 preparatory Catechesis to serve as a reflection, in preparation for the event. It is available in Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese.
Various Commissions have been created and are working for the success of the Encounter and a Press subcommittee, presided by Father Omar Sotelo, head of the Communications Office for the Mexican Bishops’ Conference (CEM), Francico Yedra, Vice-President of Signis (World Catholic Association for Communication), and Carlos Villa Roiz, chair of the Communications Department for the Archbishop’s Residence. Mr. Roiz presented various projects that are being prepared by this Press subcommittee. Firstly, the international convocatory for the creation of a mosaic of the Holy Father, at the beginning of the WMF, using photographs of families from all over the world (www.mosaicodefamilias.com). As of today, over 1,200 families from 42 countries have sent their photo. Four contests have also been established: International photography contest, with the theme: “Family and immigrants”; Children’s Drawing Contest, with the theme: “Values and the Family,” which will be coordinated by Father Pedro Agustin Rivera, Rector of the old Basilica of Guadalupe; Poetry Contest with poems about grandparents, and lastly, “A letter to my child” for all mothers, especially the most vulnerable or those who have had to assume the role as head of the household on their own. Other projects include a “Family Bell.” There will be a possibility of making another replica, so that it can travel to future World Family Encounters and the Holy See can pass it on to the next hosting country, along with the icon of the Holy Family. Lastly, it was announced that the Mexican Postal Service will join in celebrating this Catholic event with a Stamp Exposition on the values of the family, the fight against aids, and ecological values. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 8/10/2008)
