THE STATE MUST
RECOGNISE THE SPECIFIC IDENTITY OF THE FAMILY FOUNDED UPON MARRIAGE (IMAGE
SOURCE: RADIO VATICANA)Vatican City, 3 June 2012 (VIS) – In the archbishopric of
Milan yesterday afternoon, the Holy Father met with representatives from the
civil and military authorities, industrialists and workers, and exponents of the
world of culture in the Italian region of Lombardy.

Benedict XVI focused his
remarks on the principles of good government as laid down by St. Ambrose who,
based in Milan, governed the Roman provinces of Liguria and Aemilia in the
fourth century. These principles “are still important” for leaders today, the
Pope said. The first quality of people in power must be justice, “the public
virtue par excellence because it concerns the good of the entire community”.
Justice has to be accompanied by love of freedom, something which distinguishes
good governors from bad ones. “Freedom is … a precious right which must be
guaranteed by the civil authorities. However, freedom does not mean the will of
the individual but the responsibility of everyone. One of the principle elements
of the secular State is to ensure freedom so that everyone can present their own
vision of social life, but always while respecting others and in the context of
laws which seek the good of all”.

In order to guarantee the common good the
laws of State “must draw justification and strength from natural law, which is
the foundation for a social order adapted to the dignity of the human person”.
An exclusively positivist view of law cannot provide ethical guidance. The State
must serve and protect the individual in all aspects, “beginning with the right
to life, which must never be deliberately suppressed”. It is also called “to
recognise the specific identity of the family, founded on marriage and open to
life, and the right of parents freely to choose the education and formation of
their children. … The State fails to do justice to families if it does not
support freedom of education for the good of all society”, the Pope said.

The
Church offers her collaboration to the State, each with their own role and their
own goals, through her doctrine, traditions, institutions and activities, by
virtue of which she places herself at the service of people. “Suffice it to
think of the many shining figures of saints of charity, of schools and of
culture, saints who cared for the sick and the marginalised with the same
service and love with which we would serve and love the Lord. … Christian
communities promote these actions … as a gratuitous superabundance of Christ’s
charity and of the all-embracing experience of their faith. Apart from
courageous technical and political decisions, the crisis we are going through
also has need of gratuitousness”.

Finally Benedict XVI recalled the fact that
St. Ambrose advised people in positions of power to ensure they were loved.
“That which love does can never be done by fear”, he said, quoting the saint.
The reasons that move people to enter into public life “cannot but be”, he told
his audience, “the desire to dedicate yourselves to the good of citizens, and
therefore a clear expression and evident sign of love. In this way politics is
ennobled and becomes an exalted form of
charity”.

DIVORCED PEOPLE ARE NOT “OUTSIDE” THE CHURCH

Vatican City, 3 June 2012 (VIS) – Yesterday evening, almost half a million
people attended the “Celebration of Witnesses” at Bresso Park in Milan, Italy,
one of events of the seventh World Meeting of Families. The Holy Father arrived
at 8.30 p.m. to participate in the celebration during which he answered
questions put to him by various families on subjects which included the economic
crisis, the position of divorced people in the Church and the indissolubility of
Marriage. Benedict XVI also recalled his own infancy and family life.
An
engaged couple from Madagascar who are studying at university in Italy spoke of
the anxiety they felt when faced with the “forever” of Marriage. The Pope
explained that falling in love, being an emotion, is not eternal. “The emotion
of love must be purified”, he said, “it must undertake a journey of discernment
in which the mind and the will also come into play. … In the rite of Marriage
the Church does not ask whether you are in love but whether you want, whether
you are resolved. In other words, falling in love must become true love; it must
involve the will and the mind in a journey (which is the period of engagement)
of purification, of greater profundity so that it is truly all of man, with all
his capacities, with the discernment of reason and the force of will, who says:
‘Yes, this is my life’”. The Holy Father also mentioned other important factors
such as communion of life with others, with friends, theChurch, the faith and
God Himself.
A Brazilian family raised the issue of divorced couples who have
remarried and cannot avail themselves of the Sacraments. Benedict XVI affirmed
that “this is one of the the great causes of suffering for the Church today, and
we do not have simple solutions. … Naturally, one very important factor is
prevention. This means ensuring that, from the beginning, the act of falling
love is transformed in a more profound and mature decision. Another factor is
that of accompanying people during marriage, to ensure that families are never
alone but find authentic company on their journey. We must tell people in this
situation that the Church loves them, but they must see and feel this love”.
Parishes and other Catholic communities “must do everything possible so that
such people feel loved and accepted, that they are not ‘outsiders’ even if they
cannot receive absolution and the Eucharist. They must see that they too live
fully within theChurch. … The Eucharist is real and shared if people truly
enter into communion with the Body of Christ. Even without the ‘corporeal’
assumption of the Sacrament, we can be spiritually united to Christ”. It is
important for divorced couples “to have the chance to live a life of faith, …
to see that their suffering is a gift for the Church, because they also help
others to defend the stability of love, of Marriage; … theirs is a suffering
in the community of the Church for the great values of our faith”.
A Greek
family asked the Pope what families affected by the economic crisis can do not
to lose hope. “Words are insufficient”, the Holy Father replied. “We should do
something tangible and we all suffer because we are unable to do so. First let
us speak of politics. I believe that all parties should show an increased sense
of responsibility, that they should not make promises they cannot keep, that
they should not seek votes only for themselves but show responsibility for the
common good of everyone, in the awareness that politics is also a human and
moral responsibility before God and man”. Moreover, each of must do everything
we can “with a great sense of responsibility and in the knowledge that
sacrifices are necessary if we are to prevail”. The Holy Father also suggested
that families help one another, and that parishes and cities do likewise,
supporting one another with material assistance and never forgetting
topray.
A seven year old girl from Vietnam asked the Pope to say something
about his own family and infancy. Benedict XVI recalled the essential importance
Sunday had had for his family. “Sunday began on Saturday afternoon when my
father would tell us the Sunday readings. … Thus we entered into the liturgy
in an atmosphere of joy. The next day we would go to Mass. I lived near Salzburg
so there was always music – Mozart, Schubert, Haydn – and when the ‘Kyrie’ began
it was as if the sky itself had opened. … We were of one heart and soul, with
many shared experiences even through difficult times because there was the war
and before that the dictatorship, then poverty. But the reciprocal love that
existed between us, the joy in simple things was so strong that we could bear
and overcome these things. …Thus we grew up in the certainty that it is good
to be human, because we could see the goodness of God reflected in parents and
siblings. … In thiscontext of trust, joy and love we were happy and I think
that heaven must be similar to my youth. In this sense I hope ‘to go home’ when
I go ‘to the other part of the world’”.

LOVE IS THE ONLY FORCE THAT
CAN TRULY TRANSFORM THE WORLD
Vatican City, 3 June 2012 (VIS) – At 10 a.m.
today, Benedict XVI presided at an open-air Mass at Bresso Park in Milan, Italy,
for the closure of the seventh World Meeting of Families. The meeting began on
30 May and has had as its theme: “The Family: Work and Celebration”. The homily
delivered by the Pope to the one million faithful present are given
below.
Below is the full English Translation of
the Pope’s Homily.

Dear Brother Bishops,
Distinguished
Authorities,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
It is a time of great joy and
communion that we are experiencing this morning, as we celebrate the eucharistic
Sacrifice: a great gathering, in union with the Successor of Peter, consisting
of faithful who have come from many different nations. It is an eloquent image
of the Church, one and universal, founded by Christ and fruit of the mission
entrusted by Jesus to his Apostles, as we heard in today’s Gospel: to go and
make disciples of all nations, “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:18-19). With affection and
gratitude I greet Cardinal Angelo Scola, Archbishop of Milan, and Cardinal Ennio
Antonelli, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, the principal
architects of this VII World Meeting of Families, together with their staff, the
Auxiliary Bishops of Milan and the other bishops. I am pleased to greet all the
Authorities who are present today. And I extend a warm welcome especially to
you, dear families! Thank you for your participation!
In today’s second
reading, Saint Paul reminds us that in Baptism we received the Holy Spirit, who
unites us to Christ as brothers and sisters and makes us children of the Father,
so that we can cry out: “Abba, Father!” (cf. Rom 8:15,17). At that moment
we were given a spark of new, divine life, which is destined to grow until it
comes to its definitive fulfilment in the glory of heaven; we became members of
the Church, God’s family, “sacrarium Trinitatis” as Saint Ambrose calls
it, “a people made one by the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”,
as the Second Vatican Council teaches (Lumen Gentium, 4). The liturgical
Solemnity of the Holy Trinity that we are celebrating today invites us to
contemplate this mystery, but it also urges us to commit ourselves to live our
communion with God and with one another according to the model of Trinitarian
communion. We are called to receive and to pass on the truths of faith in a
spirit of harmony, to live our love for each other and for everyone, sharing
joys and sufferings, learning to seek and to grant forgiveness, valuing the
different charisms under the leadership of the bishops. In a word, we have been
given the task of building church communities that are more and more like
families, able to reflect the beauty of the Trinity and to evangelize not only
by word, but I would say by “radiation”, in the strength of living love.
It
is not only the Church that is called to be the image of One God in Three
Persons, but also the family, based on marriage between man and woman. In the
beginning, “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created
him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them, and God said to
them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply’” (Gen 1:27-28). God created us male and
female, equal in dignity, but also with respective and complementary
characteristics, so that the two might be a gift for each other, might value
each other and might bring into being a community of love and life. It is love
that makes the human person the authentic image of God. Dear married couples, in
living out your marriage you are not giving each other any particular thing or
activity, but your whole lives. And your love is fruitful first and foremost for
yourselves, because you desire and accomplish one another’s good, you experience
the joy of receiving and giving. It is also fruitful in your generous and
responsible procreation of children, in your attentive care for them, and in
their vigilant and wise education. And lastly, it is fruitful for society,
because family life is the first and irreplaceable school of social virtues,
such as respect for persons, gratuitousness, trust, responsibility, solidarity,
cooperation. Dear married couples, watch over your children and, in a world
dominated by technology, transmit to them, with serenity and trust, reasons for
living, the strength of faith, pointing them towards high goals and supporting
them in their fragility. And let me add a word to the children here: be sure
that you always maintain a relationship of deep affection and attentive care for
your parents, and see that your relationships with your brothers and sisters are
opportunities to grow in love.
God’s plan for the human couple finds its
fullness in Jesus Christ, who raised marriage to the level of a sacrament. Dear
married couples, by means of a special gift of the Holy Spirit, Christ gives you
a share in his spousal love, making you a sign of his faithful and all-embracing
love for the Church. If you can receive this gift, renewing your “yes” each day
by faith, with the strength that comes from the grace of the sacrament, then
your family will grow in God’s love according to the model of the Holy Family of
Nazareth. Dear families, pray often for the help of the Virgin Mary and Saint
Joseph, that they may teach you to receive God’s love as they did. Your vocation
is not easy to live, especially today, but the vocation to love is a wonderful
thing, it is the only force that can truly transform the world. You have before
you the witness of so many families who point out the paths for growing in love:
by maintaining a constant relationship with God and participating in the life of
the Church, by cultivating dialogue, respecting the other’s point of view, by
being ready for service and patient with the failings of others, by being able
to forgive and to seek forgiveness, by overcoming with intelligence and humility
any conflicts that may arise, by agreeing on principles of upbringing, and by
being open to other families, attentive towards the poor, and responsible within
civil society. These are all elements that build up the family. Live them with
courage, and be sure that, insofar as you live your love for each other and for
all with the help of God’s grace, you become a living Gospel, a true domestic
Church (cf. Familiaris Consortio, 49). I should also like to
address a word to the faithful who, even though they agree with the Church’s
teachings on the family, have had painful experiences of breakdown and
separation. I want you to know that the Pope and the Church support you in your
struggle. I encourage you to remain united to your communities, and I earnestly
hope that your dioceses are developing suitable initiatives to welcome and
accompany you.
In the Book of Genesis, God entrusts his creation to the human
couple for them to guard it, cultivate it, and direct it according to his plan
(cf. 1:27-28; 2:15). In this commission we may recognize the task of man and
woman to collaborate with God in the process of transforming the world through
work, science and technology. Man and woman are also the image of God in this
important work, which they are to carry out with the Creator’s own love. In
modern economic theories, there is often a utilitarian concept of work,
production and the market. Yet God’s plan, as well as experience, show that the
one-sided logic of sheer utility and maximum profit are not conducive to
harmonious development, to the good of the family or to building a more just
society, because it brings in its wake ferocious competition, strong
inequalities, degradation of the environment, the race for consumer goods,
family tensions. Indeed, the utilitarian mentality tends to take its toll on
personal and family relationships, reducing them to a fragile convergence of
individual interests and undermining the solidity of the social fabric.
One
final point: man, as the image of God, is also called to rest and to celebrate.
The account of creation concludes with these words: “And on the seventh day God
finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all
his work which he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it”
(Gen 2:2-3). For us Christians, the feast day is Sunday, the Lord’s day,
the weekly Easter. It is the day of the Church, the assembly convened by the
Lord around the table of the word and of the eucharistic Sacrifice, just as we
are doing today, in order to feed on him, to enter into his love and to live by
his love. It is the day of man and his values: conviviality, friendship,
solidarity, culture, closeness to nature, play, sport. It is the day of the
family, on which to experience together a sense of celebration, encounter,
sharing, not least through taking part in Mass. Dear families, despite the
relentless rhythms of the modern world, do not lose a sense of the Lord’s Day!
It is like an oasis in which to pause, so as to taste the joy of encounter and
to quench our thirst for God.
Family, work, celebration: three of God’s
gifts, three dimensions of our lives that must be brought into a harmonious
balance. Harmonizing work schedules with family demands, professional life with
motherhood, work with celebration, is important for building up a society with a
human face. In this regard, always give priority to the logic of being over that
of having: the first builds up, the second ends up destroying. We must learn to
believe first of all in the family, in authentic love, the kind that comes from
God and unites us to him, the kind that therefore “makes us a ‘we’ which
transcends our divisions and makes us one, until in the end God is ‘all in all’
(1 Cor 15:28)” (Deus Caritas Est, 18).
Amen.

PHILADELPHIA 2015, THE NEXT WORLD MEETING OF FAMILIES

Vatican City, 3 June 2012 (VIS) – At midday today, after having celebrated
Mass in the presence of almost one million faithful at Bresso Park in Milan and
before praying the Angelus, the Holy Father announced that the eighth World
Meeting of Families will be held in Philadelphia, U.S.A. in the year 2015. “I
send my warm greetings to Archbishop Charles Chaput”, he said, “and to the
Catholics of that great city, and look forward to meeting them there along with
numerous families from all around the world”.
Before bidding farewell to the
participants in the seventh World Meeting of Families, Benedict XVI expressed
his thanks to Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, president of the Pontifical Council for
the Family, and to Cardinal Angelo Scola, archbishop of Milan, as well as to all
the organisers and volunteers.
The Pope then went on the greet pilgrims in
various languages. Speaking French, he spoke of his joy at today’s beatification
in the French diocese of Besancon of Fr. Jean-Joseph Lataste of the Order of
Friars Preachers, whom he described as an “apostle of mercy” and “apostle of
prisons”.
“Dear families of Milan, Lombardy, Italy and the whole world, I
greet you all with affection and thank you for your participation”, the Holy
Father concluded. “I encourage you to show solidarity towards families
experiencing the greatest difficulties. I am thinking of the economic and social
crisis, I am thinking of the recent earthquake in Emilia. May the Virgin Mary
always accompany and support you”.