It was a gray and rainy morning in Rome, but that didn't stop the Pope from leading the general audience out in the open in St. Peter's Square. After making his way along the popemobile, he started off by cracking a few jokes.
POPE FRANCIS
'Good morning...good morning, but not good weather.â?
In his catechesis, he talked about the family.
March 25th marks 20 years since the release of the 'Evangelium Vitae' encyclical. The Pope called for prayers, especially as the Vatican gets ready for the second phase of the Synod on the Family in October.
POPE FRANCIS
'I ask you to please continue to pray. Everyone-the Pope, cardinals, bishops, priests, male and female religious and the laity. We are all called to pray for the Synod on the Family. This is what we need, not gossip.â?
His comments referenced all media attention, at times erroneous, that gave rise during the first phase of the Synod on the Family back in 2014.
He also highlighted that there is a bond between the Church and the family, that cannot be dissolved.
POPE FRANCIS
'The Church, as a mother, never abandons her family. Not even when it falls into sin or strays away from the Church. She will always do whatever is possible to cure the family, calling it to conversion and to reconcile with the Lord.â?
At the end of the audience, the Pope lashed out against rising unemployment, as he did during his visit to Naples, adding that when one cannot buy bread, dignity is lost.
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