The 8th World Meeting of Families on 22-27 September 2015 in Philadelphia is presented. The event will be open to "other Christian Churches and communities, as well as from representatives of the world's other Great Religions, together with other men and women who, though not religious, are committed to bringing peace and good will to our world."

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The 8^th World Meeting of Families, scheduled to take place on 22-27 September 2015 in Philadelphia (United States), confirms the family's central role for the Catholic Church, this according to Mgr Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, who laid out plans for the event together with Mgr Charles Joseph Chaput, O.F.M. Cap, archbishop of Philadelphia.

The Consistory of Cardinals focused already on the family in its last meeting in February. The bishops will follow suit in  their upcoming Extraordinary Synod next October, where they will study 'The Challenges to Families in the Context of Evangelisation,' a theme that they will pursue again in the Synod's regular meeting in October 2015,

"The starting point and the guide for this journey is the one given to us by Pope Francis," said Mgr Paglia," namely "the beauty of the family and of marriage, the grandeur of a reality that is both simple and profound, a combination of joy, hope, burdens and suffering, just like the rest of life." Hence, "We will seek to deepen our understanding of the theology of the family and of the pastoral care that we must exercise in today's world".

In order to achieve this, "We would also hope that the Meeting in Philadelphia sees a broad and active presence from the other Christian Churches and communities, as well as from representatives of the world's other Great Religions, together with other men and women who, though not religious, are committed to bringing peace and good will to our world."

Therefore, "May our coming together for the family encourage all peoples to remember that we are one family of humankind and that it is together as a family that we must walk the path to true happiness."

"Much work still needs to be done in perfecting the design and content of this event," Mgr Chaput said. "But we very much want the World Meeting of Families in 2015 to be a moment of hope and joy for every person and every family that attends. It is especially fitting that next month Blessed John Paul II will be canonized a saint by our Holy Father. It was Blessed John Paul II, the Pope of the Family, who first proposed these global meetings on the family. And we in Pennsylvania are grateful to continue this great tradition of reaffirming the importance, the beauty and the joy of Christian family life.

"To that purpose, we're bringing together the best experts we can enlist to address the pastoral, social, economic and cultural challenges that families now face. In the end, our goal is simple. We want to help families strengthen their family life in very practical ways. And so I'd ask everyone here today to pray that God will guide our efforts in a way that benefits his people, and proves worthy of the families and communities we serve."

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