Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Mexico City (Agenzia Fides) – On the final day of conferences for the Theological-Pastoral Congress, which took place during the 6th World Meeting of Families (WMF), there were many activities. The Closing Event of the Congress was attended by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State and Pontifical Legate for the 6th WMF. On the afternoon of Friday, January 16, the “Mosaic of Families” was unveiled. The Mosaic is a giant mural depicting Pope Benedict XVI, composed of 5,000 photographs of families from all over the world. It is 130 centimeters wide and 90 centimeters high, and on either side it has the Pope's shield and the symbol of the 6th WMF. The Mosaic will be sent to the Pope through Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Pontifical Legate for the Encounter. The meaning of the mosaic is that “all the families may be spiritually present to Pope Benedict and that he may be spiritually present to them,” coordinators said.
“The Theological-Pastoral Congress ends this afternoon, but in each of our families and communities, the commitments that have joined us during these days will remain alive: i.e. making the family the main teacher of human and Christian values,” said Cardinal Rivera Carrera in the Closing Message of the Congress. In his Message, he emphasized that although the path of families is not an easy one, “even amidst the most adverse contexts it can be once again restored. All that needs to be done is to provide the necessary surroundings and on its own, it will once again be reestablished.” In concluding the Congress, the Cardinal affirmed that “it is up to is to propose a family model that we know is more complete, more harmonious, a model that forms a community of life and love which is marriage and that is carried on through the children as the fruits of the first among all the values.” It is a model that “is not always present in all human communities and that many times is broken in society, due to human weakness. However, we cannot cease to continue building this model that is a marvelous realization of the human and divine vocation of the human person.”
He then made an appeal to all families, asking that they may never cease to be a gift to society and for other families. “Offer other families the testimony of your values of love, your human values, spiritual values, and Christian values. Families, do not cease to be a gift for others, even when you find yourselves with wounds from sin, or when failures appear in life. Many times the best of gifts is showing that, amidst the failures in life, one can maintain the hope of getting back up on their feet.”
On the final day of the Theological-Pastoral Congress, at the end of the first session, an interesting Communications Panel was offered, with international projects at the service of the family. One of the coordinators, Salvador Villalobos, Director of the the Communications Council of Mexico (an private organization that promotes Family Day every year on the first Sunday of March), mentioned that following field studies and analysis of various anti-drug and anti-violence campaigns, the most effective solution found was to concentrate efforts on strengthening the family. “With healthy families, we would no longer have the dangers that our youth face today.” Michele Velasco, Director of “Priests for Life,” an international associations of pro-life priests founded in the United States in 1991, affirmed that every Catholic should defend human life. Father Domenico di Raimondo, Superior General of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit, presented Mexican Blessed Concepcion Armida as a model of wife, mother, and apostle. “A prolific writer, Conchita found her greatest source of inspiration in her love for Christ amidst the turbulent times of the revolution in Mexico. Her message was always that marriage and family life are a path to holiness.” Antoni Zieba, from Poland, promotes the initiative of world prayer for human life and explained that this project came about as a means of responding to the fact that 50 million human lives are lost to abortion every year. Lastly, Noel Kinsella, President of the Canadian Senate, firmly defended the right of the family to receive protection from society and from the State, as is expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “The State should not replace the family, but rather be ready and willing to offer it assistance when it no longer has the resources or capacity to meet its own needs.” (RG) (Agenzia Fides 19/1/2009)
