Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “I have participated with joy and interest in this World Meeting, above all with my prayer, giving specific guidelines and attentively following its preparation and development. Today, through the communications media, I have spiritually made a pilgrimage to this Marian shrine, heart of Mexico and of all of America, so as to entrust all the families of the world to Our Lady of Guadalupe.” These were the words of the Holy Father Benedict XVI in his live televised address at the end of the Closing Mass for the 6th World Meeting of Families, presided by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Special Envoy of the Pope, at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.
“ In Mexico, the Gospel has taken deep roots, forging its traditions and culture, and the identity of its noble people,” the Pope said in greeting the Mexican people. “This rich patrimony must be protected so that it continues being a spring of moral and spiritual energies to courageously and creatively face the challenges of today and so that it can be offered as a precious gift to new generations.”
The Pope then mentioned that “The Christian response to the challenges that must be confronted by families and human life in general, consists in intensifying trust in the Lord and the vigor that springs from one's faith, which is nourished by attentive listening to the Word of God...In prayer, especially with the praying of the Rosary...the family contemplates the mysteries of the life of Jesus, interiorizes the values that it meditates and feels called to incarnate them in their lives.”
After recalling that the family “is an indispensable foundation for society and for peoples” and “occupies a primary place in the education of the person,” the Pope continued: “No one has given being to himself. We have received life from others, which is developed and matured with the truths and values that we learn in relation and communion with the rest. In this sense, the family founded on the indissoluble matrimony between a man and a woman expresses this relational, filial and communitarian dimension, and is the realm where man can be born with dignity, grow and develop in an integral way...The true liberty of the human being comes from having been created in the image and likeness of God, and therefore should be exercised with responsibility, always opting for the true good so that it becomes love, gift of self. For this, more than theories, the intimacy and love characteristic of the familial community are needed.”
In the concluding part of his address, Benedict XVI spoke strongly saying: “Today more than ever is needed the testimony and public commitment of all the baptized to reaffirm the dignity and the unique and irreplaceable value of the family founded on the marriage of a man and a woman and open to life, as well as the [value] of human life in all its stages. Legislative and administrative measures that support families in their inalienable rights, necessary to carry forward their extraordinary mission, should also be promoted.” He then assured them of his closeness in prayer, “for all families that give a testimony of fidelity in especially difficult circumstances,” and encouraged numerous families, “hoping that they may not lack the help they need,” and lastly, he mentioned his thoughts for the “families that suffer poverty, illness, marginalization or emigration. And very especially for the Christian families that are persecuted because of their faith.”
Before concluding his address with a prayer entrusting all the families of the world to the protection of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Holy Father announced that the 7th World Family Encounter will take place in Milan in 2012, and the theme will be: “Family, Work and Celebration.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 20/1/2009)
