BY Daniel Harkins | October 7 | 
0 COMMENTS 
print
Families are the net for fishers of men, Pope says
In this morning’s general audience address, the Holy Father said that in families we learn the bonds that unite us
The Church needs a new net to be effective fishers of men—a net made of families—Pope Francis said this morning during his weekly general audience.
Families, the Pope said, ‘free us from the sea of loneliness and indifference, so that we can all experience the freedom of being children of God.’
The Holy Father’s address was the start of a catecheses reflecting on ‘the relationship—which we may certainly define as indissoluble—between the Church and the family.’
Three general audiences will take place during the ongoing Synod of Bishops in Rome, a gathering dedicated to reflecting on the family in the life of the Church and society.
In this first address, the Pope said family life, like the life of the Church, is a pilgrimage, explaining that, when families journey along the way of the Lord, they offer a fundamental witness to God’s love, and they deserve the full commitment and support of the Church.
“In the family we learn of the bonds which unite us, of fidelity, sincerity, trust, cooperation and respect, even when difficulties abound,” Pope Francis told pilgrims, including some from Scotland, in St Peter’s Square. “Indeed it is in family life that the most vulnerable of society are cared for. And yet, political and economic life today does not always support the family, and seems to have lost the ability to incorporate the virtues of family life into the common life of society.”
Using the Gospel’s fishing metaphor, the Pope said the Church should ‘go out into the deep, confident that the catch will be great.’
“And may the synod fathers, inspired by the Holy Spirit, encourage the Church to cast out her net with confidence and faith in the Word of God,” he added.
RSS Feeds