Help youth be brave in opting for marriage and family, Pope tells bishops [CNA]

[CNA_News]

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/images/size340/Screen_Shot_2015_09_27_at_0711_1.pngPhiladelphia, Pa., Sep 27, 2015 / 08:16 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis told bishops Sunday that a widespread consumerism and desire to follow new fads has rendered youth fearful of commitments, and said that as pastors they must encourage youth to be brave in going against the tide.

He began his speech, however, with an impromptu reflection on the clergy sex abuse crisis, mentioning that he had met earlier with victims and their families. He said the victims "have become true heralds of hope and mercy. In humility, we owe each of them and their families an immense debt of gratitude ... they made the light of Christ shine on something so awful: the sexual abuse of minors."

"I say this now because I just met with some victims of sexual abuse, and at that time I heard how they're being helped in a special way here in this archdiocese, by Archbishop Chaput, and I thought it was the right thing to do, to tell you where I was this morning."

The Pope then continued with his prepared remarks, noting his joy at being able to reflect together with fellow bishops: "I am happy to be able to share these moments of pastoral reflection with you, amid the joyful celebrations for the World Meeting of Families," he said Sept. 27 at the chapel of Philadelphia's St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.

"To Congress a couple days ago, I said we are living in a culture that pushes young people not to form families: some because they don't have the material resources to realize a wedding, or a life together. But others just choose this because they think they're better off this way – but that's the temptation, to not lay a foundation, to not have a family. As pastors, we bishops are called to collect our energies and to rebuild enthusiasm for making families correspond ever more fully to the blessing of God which they are!"

"We need to invest our energies not so much in rehearsing the problems of the world around us and the merits of Christianity, but in extending a sincere invitation to young people to be brave and to opt for marriage and the family."

Francis' comments on his last day in the U.S. were addressed to bishops participating in the World Meeting of Families.

After spending three days in Cuba, the Pope arrived to Washington D.C. Sept. 23, where he met with president Barack Obama and addressed a joint-meeting of U.S. Congress. He then moved onto New York, where he spoke to the United Nations and met with school children in Harlem.

He met with the bishops before celebrating Mass to close the World Meeting of Families, and will board a plane to Rome later this evening.

In his speech to the bishops, Pope Francis said that despite current challenges, the family shouldn't be viewed primarily as a cause for concern, but rather "the joyous confirmation of God's blessing upon the masterpiece of creation."

A key pastoral concern amid the constant changes of our time is to recognize the gift of the family, and be aware that both gratitude and appreciation ought to prevail over worries or complaints.

The family, he said,  "is the fundamental locus of the covenant between the Church and God's creation. Without the family, not even the Church would exist. Nor could she be what she is called to be."

However, the Pope noted that Christians are not immune to the changes of our time, and because of that "the unprecedented changes taking place in contemporary society, with their social, cultural - and now juridical - effects on family bonds" shouldn't be disregarded.

While until recently the civil institution of marriage and the Christian sacrament were a shared notion seen as interrelated and mutually supportive, "this is no longer the case," Francis observed.

Using the example of neighborhood stores and large supermarkets, the Pope said that formerly the situation was like the local stores, which had everything needed for both personal and family life, even if it wasn't "cleverly displayed."

"Business was done on the basis of trust, people knew one another, they were all neighbors. They trusted one another. They built up trust," he said, noting that later the big supermarkets sprang up with large spaces and an endless selection of merchandise.

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