Catholic World News News Feature

Large families deserve support, Pope says November 04, 2005

Large families need society’s support, Pope Benedict XVI told his weekly audience on November 2.

A large family, the Pope remarked, “constitutes a witness of faith, courage, and optimism.” Moreover, large families provide wealth to society, “because without children there is no future!”

The Holy Father called for “adequate social and legislative” measures to support large families, repeating that they offer “richness and hope for the entire country.”

The Pope’s remarks were prompted by the presence of an Italian national family association at the Wednesday audience. He used the occasion to underline “the centrality of the family, the foundational cell of society and the first place where life is welcomed and served.” He offered his special greetings to large families, and made a point, at the end of his audience, of meeting with a family that had 9 children.

The Pope also spoke about the significance of the feast of All Souls, November 2, when Catholics pray for the dead. The liturgy of the day, Pope Benedict said, encourages the faithful to “look upon the mystery of death in the light of faith, with serenity and hope.” The Scriptures, he continued, teach that “death is not an end, but a new birth.”

Next, commenting on Psalm 111, the Pontiff said that “the happiness of the faithful shows in docility to the commandments of God.” Those who shun injustice and immorality, he said, experience a “profound peace of conscience” and a blessing that extends not only to their own lives but to future generations.