CCEE: Rome seminar examines ministry to families, legacy of Pope John Paul II
(Vatican Radio) The Council of European Catholic Bishops' Conferences (CCEE), has
issued a statement following a March 20-21 seminar for world bishops in Rome focusing
on family ministry with regard to current social challenges and Pope John Paul II’s
legacy in this area. The meeting was organized by the Pontifical John Paul II Institute
for Studies of Marriage and the Family. CCEE members supervised the final session
and have made the following observations:
The purpose of the final session
of the meeting was analyzing the resources of the family ministry in front of the
current challenges. The session, chaired by Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, Secretary
General of the Synod of Bishops, and moderated by Mgr. Duarte da Cunha, Secretary
General of CCEE, benefitted from the contribution of several European experts.
During
the works an observation has been repeated several times - the widespread ignorance
of the teaching of the Church on the family, which is very often perceived as a set
of rules. This is confirmed also by the many responses to the questionnaire on the
family received by the Synod of Bishops. The mission of the Church, instead, is first
of all and in every circumstance, proclaiming Christ who comes to meet everyone and
knocks at the door of every hearth to bring the fullness of life. It is Christ who
saves the families through the Church. In Rome, participants and speakers have rather
emphasized the pastoral challenge to bring out the beauty of the Gospel of the Family
without concealing its demands of truth that ultimately correspond to the expectations
of the human heart. Cardinal Baldisseri urged participants to use this time of preparation
for the forthcoming Synod as an opportunity to debate on the topic of the family and
make visible the beauty of the teaching of the Church, as witnessed on a daily basis
by the life of many Christian families. In fact, one of the purposes of the next Synod
is to analyze the doctrine of the Church in front of the challenges of today's world
in order to discern what the Lord is teaching to his own people, thus also addressing
the great thirst for learning more about what the Church proclaims on the topic of
the family. And especially to arouse the enthusiasm of the whole Church to bring Christ
to all the families.
On the eve of the canonization of the one who has already
been called the Pope of the family, the figure and the contribution of John Paul II
on the topics of marriage and the family were repeatedly evoked. The passion for the
family of the Blessed Pope has led him to develop a rich magisterium which is still
relevant today. Familiaris consortio, his catechesis on human love and many other
documents, but above all the memory of his way of dealing pastorally with the families,
are still sources of inspiration as witnessed by the family ministry operators from
five continents who attended the meeting.
In fact, the magisterium of John
Paul II clearly shows how the family is, even for our time, a really good news and
that marriage, if it is lived in the light of divine grace that redeems the human
heart, is a source of love also in very adverse circumstances.
In short, the
teaching of this future saint is an invitation to unceasingly proclaim the love of
the family, even when this proclamation must go against the general trend, because
this is a responsibility of the Church, a heir of this Pope. In this sense, the Church
is invited to promote an adequate family ministry, which can accompany the individuals
and the families and bring everyone to the truth and love of Jesus.
The family
ministry cannot be understood as a sector or an aspect of pastoral care, but rather
as the perspective to which all pastoral care refers to. This adequate and complete
pastoral care which had been wholeheartedly promoted by the Blessed Pope coincide
with the urgency to proclaim the joy of the Gospel to which Pope Francis drew the
attention of the whole Church.
The participants paid tribute to Pope John
Paul II by taking part in a Thanksgiving Mass celebrated by Cardinal Carlo Caffarra,
first dean of the John Paul II Institute, in St. Peter's Basilica at the tomb of the
Blessed Pope.