Fr. Frank Pavone
Pontifical Council for the Family
Preparations for what has become one of the most significant regular
ecclesial events, World Youth Day, are taking place in a set of offices near the
tiny Piazza San Calisto in the Trastevere section of Rome. The Pontifical
Council for the Laity, under the direction of His Eminence Francis Cardinal
Stafford, is entrusted with this event. Throngs of exuberant youth are already
set to come to Rome in the summer of the year 2000 for this extraordinary event.
But in the offices right above the Council for the Laity, preparations are
being made for another world gathering to take place in October of the year
2000, also in Rome.
The Pontifical Council for the Family is preparing for the Third World
Meeting of the Holy Father with Families. With a structure similar to that of
World Youth Day, namely, an extended vigil in the presence of the Holy Father,
marked with prayer, song, Scripture, and testimony, and a magnificent Sunday
Liturgy the next day, the World Meeting with Families is a moment when the
Church touches the root of the very hope of the world's future.
"The future of humanity passes through the family," the Holy Father has often
declared. The family, indeed, is the fundamental cell of human society. Strong
families constitute the basis for a strong society. Weak families mean a society
in collapse.
Pope John Paul II established the Pontifical Council for the Family,
entrusting it with a twofold mission: Family and Life.
Regarding the Family, the Council "…promotes pastoral attention to families
and favors their rights and dignity in the Church and in civil society so that
they can better fulfill their own functions" (Pastor Bonus, art. 139).
Regarding the gift of Life, the Council "…supports and coordinates
initiatives for the defense of human life from conception and in favor of
responsible procreation" (art. 141, sec.3). The pro-life activities of the
Church, in other words, fall under the responsibility of the Pontifical Council
for the Family.
That makes the Meeting of the Holy Father with Families in October, 2000 one
of the most significant worldwide pro-life events of the Church's celebration of
the New Millennium.
Given the leadership, for better or for worse, which the United States plays
in the world scene in matters of the defense of life, would it not be a fitting
sign to have families from every diocese present at this marvelous event?
The first World Meeting with Families occurred in Rome during the
International Year of the Family, 1994. The Second was last year in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil. Now the Third, being in the Jubilee year, will again occur in
Rome. Official announcements in regard to the theme and official details will be
forthcoming. In the meantime, why not consider making the pilgrimage to Rome,
with families from across the globe? Let us pray that this event will be a
strong call to the world to make the New Millennium one in which life and the
family flourish.
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