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Pope John Paul II to Resume Pastoral Visits to Parishes of the Roman Diocese; Theme: Sanctity of the Family

VATICAN CITY, FEB 26, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In his customary address at the beginning of lent, Pope John Paul II told the priests of his diocese of Rome that he was planning to renew his pastoral visits to the parishes.

The Holy Father articulated his plans to the priests, saying "In the first place, Rome: what does Rome mean? A petrine city. And every parish is petrine. There are 340 parishes in Rome and I have visited 300. There are 40 left to go. But this Saturday we will resume these visits. Let's hope that all goes well."

John Paul II, in his off-the-cuff address, told the priests that "Our theme is the family. Family means: 'And He created them man and woman'. It means: love and responsibility. From these words come all the consequences. These consequences have been much talked about in regard to marriage, the family, parents, children, schools.

"I am very grateful to you because you have illustrated these consequences, this reality. Certainly this concern belongs to every parish. I learned some time ago, when I was in Krakow, to live close to couples, to families. I also closely followed the path that led two persons, a man and a woman, to create a family and, with marriage, to become spouses and parents, with all the consequences we know so well.

"Thank you for your pastoral solicitude for families and also because you seek to resolve all the problems that being a family can involve. I wish you well as you continue in this very important field, because the future of the Church and the world passes through families. I hope you prepare this good future for Rome, for your homeland, Italy, and for the world. Many best wishes!"

The Holy Father encouraged the priests to never weary of emphasizing the "fundamental and irreplaceable role of the family in the life of the Church and of civil society." He also pointed out that "the pastoral care of priests is necessary" to sustain Christian families.

John Paul II told his priests that "the misguided and often aberrant behaviour that is publicly proposed, and also endorsed and exalted, and daily contact with the difficulties and crises of many families can cause us to be tempted to distrust and resignation. We must overcome this temptation with God's help. Today the Holy Spirit's action is not weaker. Therefore, the greater the difficulties, the stronger our hope must be in the present and future of the family, and the more generous and passionate our priestly service to families must be."

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