Pope Francis has stressed that the family is the foundation of all human society during an address in Rome.
As the Synod on the Family continues its work at the Vatican, the Pontiff returned to the theme of the family during his weekly Wednesday audience. Dealing with the themes of love and fidelity, he asserted that just as “our freedom is shaped and sustained by our fidelity to the choices and commitments we make throughout life [and] fidelity to our promises is a supreme expression of our dignity as human beings”, it is through the family, and that fidelity between a man and a woman, where it is best learned.
“There is no greater ‘school’ to teach us such fidelity than marriage and the family, which are, in God’s plan, a blessing for our world,” he said.
Warning that the promise made between a man and a woman in entering marriage “is called into question nowadays, and seen as somehow opposed to personal freedom”, the Pope urged prayers that, via the synod, “the Church will uphold and strengthen the promise of the family, with creativity and with unfailing trust in that faithful love by which the Lord fulfils his every promise”.
The Pontiff’s latest comments have been echoed by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna, who, while participating at the family synod offered his own perspective on the ongoing discussions to the media.
“What struck me and strikes me day after day is that, despite the different realities, experiences and problems, the testimonies of the whole world all demonstrate the same thing: there is no more stupendous project than the family.
“The success of marriage and of the family is worth immensely more than all the difficulties and the crises that exist.”
Acknowledging that the synod has much work to complete yet, Cardinal Schönborn nevertheless stated that a central aim has already been agreed, that of “a great yes of the Church to the family, a great hope that the family will be stronger than all the crises.”
