Pope Francis has said that while the Church respects everyone, including the divorced and separated, it must not be forgotten that the ideal is the united family.

Francis stressed this during his weekly General Audience, Wednesday morning, Aug. 29, held in St. Peter’s Square, as he reflected on his recent visit to Ireland for the World Meeting of Families (WMOF) in Dublin. The Pope said the event was prophetic in showcasing families engaged in the Gospel way of marriage and family life. “We forget so many families that go on with faithfulness and courage. We forget it because today it is fashionable to talk about divorces and separations and this is a bad thing. I respect everything, but this is not ideal, the ideal is not separation, but a united family!”

The thousands of families – spouses, grandparents, children – gathered in Dublin, with all the variety of their languages, cultures and experiences, he noted, have been “an eloquent sign of the beauty of God’s dream for the entire human family.” He continued: “In the mystery of his love, He calls families to participate in this dream and make the world a house where nobody is alone, nobody is unwanted, nobody is excluded.”