The Pontifical Council for the Family has wanted to focus on some issues in particular, such as the importance of the Bible as a book for the family, encouraging parents to teach their children to read the Bible, while also giving them the opportunity to experience its message. Families have also been invited to reflect on the role that the mass media plays within the family, and especially on their great responsibility in bringing families to the faith.

Much has ben said about the importance of the family as a resource in society and as a domestic Church, presenting the Eucharist as a model of giving for families. Special attention was also paid to the analysis of the social and multicultural context of the Hispanic family, and, finally, to a topic very dear to the Pope, the care for creation and the economic and ecological hardship of the family today, was addressed by the President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Cardinal Peter Turkson, alongside Archbishop Paglia.

 

While different reflections on the family were offered to mothers and to fathers, the children were immersed in the Youth Congress: a space dedicated entirely to them during the World Meeting. With the support of many volunteers, animated by a contagious joy, children and young people from all over the world have been involved in games, plays, drawing and crafts workshops, among other activities. A workspace has also been set up in which the youngest, assisted by older children, help to package basic necessities that will be distributed by the Catholic Relief Services, thus making them understand the importance of that simple gesture. All of this has taken place in a festive atmosphere, which did not end with the gathering with the parents, but has enlivened the encounter and the intertwining of the stories of each family that has come to Philadelphia for this meeting.