The Secretary of the Pontifical Council, Bishop Jean Laffitte, gave a lecture in Philadelphia, on 28 August, to members of the Religion Newswriters Association on the theme: Pope Francis and the Family.
The lecture was attended, among others, by Prof. Carl Anderson, member of the Pontifical Council and Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, and the theologian Theresa Alvarè.
Msgr. Laffitte, recently appointed prelate of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta by the Pope, began showing how, since the convening of the two synods, Francis’ choices are the answers chosen by the Pope to tackle the severe emergency in which the family finds itself today.
The Pope is concerned, continued Bishop Laffitte, first and above all about the spiritual good of the people and the salvation of their souls. In this, as in many specific issues addressed during the lecture (including the indissolubility of marriage, the so-called same-sex marriage, abortion), the teaching of the current pope is clearly in line with that of his predecessors.
Bishop Laffitte concluded his lecture by saying:
“To deal correctly with the pastoral challenges facing couples and families, there is always, in his view, a call for personal sanctification: not only the conversion of those who are directly concerned by a problem, but also the conversion of those who help and guide them. This might be what will be at stake on the occasion of the coming Jubilee of Mercy.”
