The Message of Extraordinary General Assembly
Of The Synod of Bishops
We, Synod Fathers, gathered in Rome together with Pope Francis in the
Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, greet all families of
the different continents and in particular all who follow Christ, the Way, the
Truth, and the Life.
We offer you
the words of Christ: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my
voice and opens the door, I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with
me” (Rev 3:20). On his journeys along the roads of the Holy Land,
Jesus would enter village houses. He continues to pass even today along the
streets of our cities.
We recognize
the great challenge to remain faithful in conjugal love. This love spreads
through fertility and generativity, which involves not only the procreation of
children but also the gift of divine life in baptism, their catechesis, and
their education. It includes the capacity to offer life, affection, and
values—an experience possible even for those who have not been able to bear
children. Families who live this light-filled adventure become a sign for all,
especially for young people.
We recall the difficulties caused by economic systems, by the “the
idolatry of money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly
human purpose” (Evangelii gaudium 55) which weakens the dignity of
people. We remember unemployed parents who are powerless to provide basic needs
for their families, and youth who see before them days of empty expectation,
who are prey to drugs and crime.
We think of so many poor families, of those who cling to boats in order
to reach a shore of survival, of refugees wandering without hope in the desert,
of those persecuted because of their faith and the human and spiritual values
which they hold. These are stricken by the brutality of war and oppression. We
call on governments and international organizations to promote the rights of
the family for the common good.
The high point which sums up all the threads of communion with God and
neighbor is the Sunday Eucharist when the family and the whole Church sits at
table with the Lord. He gives himself to all of us, pilgrims through history
towards the goal of the final encounter when “Christ is all and in all” (Col 3:11).
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