At the Festival of Families, Pope Francis noted that families are founded on the love of Christ. The latter “renews everything [and] is what makes possible marriage and conjugal love marked by fidelity, indissolubility, unity and openness to life.” At the nunciature, the pontiff met with eight sex abuse survivors as well men and women religious and dignitaries.
Pope Francis is in Ireland for the World Meeting of Families. In his first address, he denounced "the failure of the ecclesiastical authorities" in dealing with pedophilia offences, a scourge that must be eliminated at any cost. Families play a unique role in education and society. A spiritual foundation is needed in society to avoid injustices, indifference towards the poor, including the unborn, and to welcome migrants.
Today is the tenth anniversary of anti-Christian pogroms. In 2008 120 Christians died and 300 churches were destroyed. The mother of a raped nun remembers the attack against her daughter.
The Muslims who fled to Bangladesh do not trust Myanmar authorities. Their repatriation does not seem imminent, yet it frightens other ethnic groups in the country. In refugee camps, the Rohingya demand justice for the genocide they endured. The Catholic Church is committed to peaceful reconciliation one year after violence started.
For the first time in 30 years, students from the best Chinese universities – Beida, Renmin, Nanjing – joined workers to set up an independent trade union. China’s party-linked official union has sided with Jasic Technology, which has tried to stifle protests with arrests and beatings.
Only five Israeli families were able to come, along with Mgr Marcuzzo. Nazareth Christians represented the Holy Land. Many topics were discussed, including refugee families.