This week kicks off the special year dedicated to the family called by the Pope to commemorate the five years of his document 'Amoris Laetitia'.
CHRISTIAN MURRAY
Vatican Deputy Spokesperson
'The special year on the family, called Amoris Laetitia Year of the Family, begins tomorrow.'
The two main people responsible for organizing this special year, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, and the number three of the Dicastery for the Family, Gabriella Gambino, explained its fundamental points.
CARD. KEVIN FARRELL
Prefect, Dicastery on the Laity, Family and Life
'This Year is an opportunity for the Church to get closer to families, so that they do not feel alone in the face of difficulties, to walk with them, to listen to them and to undertake pastoral initiatives that help them cultivate their daily love.'
GABRIELLA GAMBINO
Undersecretary, Dicastery Laity, Family and Life
'It is not a question of doing pastoral care to help in the face of failures, as the Pope says in Amoris Laetitia, but a pastoral care that shows the beauty of the sacrament of marriage and of Christian families. May it make this beauty perceptible to the eyes of children and young people, so that they may be attracted to the gift of marriage'.
The organizers will publish throughout the year on this special website in five languages proposals to enthuse young people with the idea of building a family, or on how to deal with difficult situations, from the education of children, the care of grandparents or arguments at home.
The Vatican asked parishes and movements to make an effort to help families where they need it.
GABRIELLA GAMBINO
Undersecretary, Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life
'For example: do our customs, styles, schedules, language and ecclesial structures adapt to the concrete life of families?'
'We have to recognize that many ecclesiastical structures, perhaps without being fully aware, are rather oriented towards older people or singles.'
The first major event this year is an academic congress on the exhortation 'Amoris Laetitia.' The second, a world forum in June that will bring together virtually the heads of bishops' conferences on pastoral care of the family.
In the course of these months, preparations will be made for the most important event, a world meeting of families in Rome, scheduled for June 2022.
JMB
