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The Family at the Conclave/3   versione testuale
Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, Homily at the Congress "The Christian Family, Subject of Evangelization"



Cardinal Marc Ouellet said: «Having taught for several years at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family, I carried in my heart the dream of a diocesan pastoral structured around the family and its values. I was aware that it was not enough to give priority to a strong family ministry; it was necessary to rethink the future of pastoral care by starting with the family, subject of evangelization».
 
 
«The nuptial fecundity of Christ and the Church flourishes consequently in families who are aware that Christ lives in their home, as lived in the home of the Holy Family, the original domestic Church.
How this sacramental reality of the family, subject of evangelization, actually manifest itself? Let me take an example from my own experience as a diocesan bishop. I remember first of all that the celebration of the 2008 International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec was an extraordinary grace for the country and for the diocese. One dimension of this grace was a revival of vocations among adolescents who belong to movements of evangelization and the search for appropriate training for those young people who expressed their interest in the priesthood. I then brought together a good group of parents of these young people to ask their opinion. They said to me: let’s found a small diocesan seminary and we will support it with a network of well-motivated families.
We started with 12 the first year, 29 the second year, and 42 the third year, which is in progress (2010). The families saw to the adaptation of the premises and raised the pitch of education in the family in order to meet the level of the young man who returns home on weekends; they willingly attend information meetings and celebrations that mark the life of the Little Seminar».
 
 
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