Francis at the World Meeting of Families © Cj Gunther/EPA
Thousands of families gathered in Philadelphia © Cj Gunther/EPA
Pope Francis has ended his nine-day trip to Cuba and the U.S. He dedicated his last day of his visit to the topic of family and visiting abuse victims and prisoners.
The family is a "factory of hope, life and resurrection," according to Pope Francis. Without more worldwide support for families and the protection of young families in particular, society has no future, he told participants at the Catholic World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. Families are a symbol of a world in which no one feels left alone and superfluous, and everyone has a place, from children to grandparents. The future of the planet depends on the cohesion of all humanity. The question of what kind of world today's people want to leave their children would have to be answered jointly, across all boundaries of origin and religion.
At the evening's "Festival of Families," the pope put aside his speech script and improvised in Spanish after sometimes moving encounters with families who shared their life stories. "The family has a divine right of citizenship," he said, probably referring to the migration debate in the U.S. "The passport for access to heaven God has given her."
Do not go to sleep in discord
Admittedly, family life is not always easy, the pope admitted. "There are also times when plates fly. And children are a headache – not to mention mothers-in-law." Children made work for parents, Francis said; "we ourselves also used to make work for our parents." And he referred to his encounter with young parents working in the Vatican who sometimes showed up for work with deep circles under their eyes when their newborn had been crying all night.
"In the family there are difficulties, but they are overcome with love. Hate never solves anything," Francis stressed. He advised never to go to sleep in discord after disputes in the family, but to reconcile at the latest at the end of each day.
Minimum standards for families
To his audience, the Pope especially urged care for the young and the oldest generations. "A people that does not care for its children and for its grandparents does not have the strength and the memory to go forward," Francis said. "Family is beautiful, but it also costs something."
The Pope's speech manuscript, which was distributed in advance, said that many of the world's problems could be easily solved if society ensured minimum material standards for family life. These included decent work, adequate housing and adequate health care, among other things.
Struggle for family-friendly society
The desire for family is "part of God's dream" for humanity, which is continually coming true in the dreams of many couples who decide to live their lives as a family. In such a family, he said, God also became man in Jesus. In the family, man "gradually learns the meaning and value of human relationships"; he learns to "put everything at risk for love". Therefore, Francis said, it is worth fighting for a family-friendly society.
"We must not think that a society that does not give concrete space to family life is healthy," Francis said. "We cannot think that a society has a future" whose legislation does not defend and safeguard the minimum requirements for families to develop – "especially those who are just starting out," the Pope referred to the special situation of newly married couples. The world family meetings are the result of an initiative by Pope John Paul II. (1978-2005) back. The first meeting of this kind took place in Rome in 1994. Organized every three years, the world meetings combine several individual events: an international congress for theologians and lay people, presentations by Christian or civil society groups and initiatives, and a large closing Mass.
Clearly against abuse
Surprisingly, the pope also met with victims of sexual abuse on Sunday. There he publicly admitted as never before that bishops, too, had sexually abused minors or covered up such cases. "I deeply lament that some bishops did not fulfill their responsibility to protect minors," he said. It was "very disturbing to know that in some cases bishops themselves had been perpetrators of abuse," the pope said, according to a statement released by the Vatican. At the same time, Francis promised that priests and bishops would be held accountable for these acts.
Afterwards, at a meeting with 300 bishops from around the world, Francis said, "The crimes, the sins of sexual abuse of minors must no longer be kept secret." He remains "overwhelmed with shame" over such cases, the pope said. "God weeps!" The pope had set up a separate court at the Vatican in June for bishops who cover up sexual abuse. With this he made an exception to the current canon law. According to the statement, bishops are responsible to the pope alone in matters of criminal law. It was the second time that Francis met with victims of abuse. The encounter at the Philadelphia seminary took place beyond the official visit program and was not announced. The first such meeting took place at the Vatican in July 2014.
Criticism of US penal system
During a visit to Philadelphia's largest prison, Francis criticized the penal system in the U.S. and called on the state and society to better resocialize inmates. "It hurts to see penal systems that do not seek to treat injuries, heal wounds and create new opportunities," he said. Successful resocialization lifts the morale of the entire community, he said. With about 2.3 million prisoners, the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Many prisons are completely overcrowded.
The trip to Cuba and the U.S. was the longest foreign trip so far in Francis's two-and-a-half-year tenure. The 78-year-old gave more than two dozen addresses and homilies along the way. Highlights included meetings with Cuban revolutionary leaders Fidel and Raul Castro and speeches before the U.S. Congress and the U.N. General Assembly in New York. The actual reason for the trip was the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. Afterwards, the itinerary expanded further due to the diplomatic rapprochement between Cuba and the U.S. initiated by the pope himself.
At the end of his visit, Pope Francis thanked the country and its people for their warm welcome. "This country has been blessed with tremendous gifts and opportunities. I pray that you may all be good and generous stewards of the human and material resources entrusted to you," the 78-year-old said shortly before his flight back to Rome at the Philadelphia airport, where U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, among others, had arrived. He also thanks President Barack Obama for the warm welcome in the U.S. and prays for the American people, Francis said.