Decrying attacks on family, Pope emphasizes importance of mutual love
June 15, 2015
Pope Francis opened Rome’s annual diocesan convention on June 14 and called for a moral and spiritual renewal of the city.
The Pontiff cited the example of parents of young children who have to “re-catechize” their children in the evening because of the “strange ideas” they learn from their teachers and schoolbooks.
“These ideological colonizations,” he said, “poison the soul and the family: we must act against this … [They] are so hurtful and destroy society, the nation, families.”
Reflecting on the vocation and mission of families and the communion that should characterized them, the Pope repeated that “the children are watching” and emphasized the importance of mutual love between parents.
In his reflection on communion, the Pope noted that men and women are different and complementary and said that the wife is called to help her husband become ever more a man, while the husband is called to help his wife become ever more a woman. Turning to mission, the Pope called upon parents to “be missionaries to your children.”
The Pope closed by emphasizing the importance of honoring grandparents and said they should be sent to a nursing home only as the very last resort.
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Further information:
- Apertura del Convegno Ecclesiale della diocesi di Roma con Papa Francesco in Piazza San Pietro, 14.06.2015 (Holy See Press Office)
- The Pope tells families to stand-up to ideological attacks (Vatican Radio)
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Posted by: shrink -
Jun. 15, 2015 7:09 AM ET USA
Glad to hear that Francis sees the challenge of “re-catechizing”. I was re-catechized by my parents and Mr Frank Morris when I was in high school in the 1960s—it did me a world of good. I was lucky, since virtually all of my Catholic high school buddies left the Faith. We had been exposed to any number of "strange ideas" by my Jesuit teachers.
