Finally, in the last part of the document, Cardinal Erdo focuses on the
Gospel of life: existence is from conception to to natural death, he remarks,
and "openness to life is an essential part and intrinsic need of conjugal
love, while nowadays, especially in the West, there are those who choose not
to have children and those who would have them at any cost; "in both cases,
the possibility of procreating a child is reduced to one's ability of
self-determination. ... Welcoming life, assuming responsibility in procreating
life and the care required are possible only if the family is not conceived as
an isolated unit but an active part in a network of relationships. ...
Increasing importance is being given to not leaving the family and families on
their own, but to accompanying and supporting them in their everyday journey.
... Family tragedies are often the result of desperation, loneliness and a
painful cry which no one knew how to discern".
 It is therefore important to rediscover a sense of widespread and concrete
solidarity, to overcome any "privatisation of love" which empties the family
of meaning and entrusts it instead to individual choice. It is necessary to
create, on an institutional level, the conditions favourable to welcoming a
child and for the care of the elderly as a social asset to be protected and
promoted. The Church should devote herself in a special way to education in
love and sexuality, explaining its value and avoiding banalisation and
superficiality.
 In conclusion, affirms Cardinal Erdo, the challenge for this Synod is to try
to bring to today's world, beyond the circle of practicing Catholics and
considering the complex situation of society, "the attractiveness of the
Christian message" about marriage and the family, giving answers that are true
and full of charity", because "the world needs Christ".
 The full text in English of the "Relatio ante disceptationem" can be
consulted at: http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/boll
ttino/pubblico/2014/10/06/0712/03003.html

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 Nurturing "God's dream", guided by the Holy Spirit
 Vatican City, 5 October 2014 (VIS) - "Today the prophet Isaiah and the Gospel
employ the image of the Lord's vineyard. The Lord's vineyard is his 'dream',
the plan which he nurtures with all his love, like a farmer who cares for his
vineyard. Vines are plants which need much care", said the Holy Father in his
homily during the Holy Mass celebrated this morning in the Vatican Basilica to
inaugurate the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on
"Pastoral challenges to the family in the context of evangelisation".
 "God's 'dream' is his people", continued Francis. "He planted it and nurtured
it with patient and faithful love, so that it can become a holy people, a
people which brings forth abundant fruits of justice. But in both the ancient
prophecy and in Jesus' parable, God's dream is thwarted. ... The temptation to
greed is ever present. ... Greed for money and power. And to satisfy this
greed, evil pastors lay intolerable burdens on the shoulders of others, which
they themselves do not lift a finger to move. We too, in the Synod of Bishops,
are called to work for the Lord's vineyard. Synod Assemblies are not meant to
discuss beautiful and clever ideas, or to see who is more intelligent. They
are meant to better nurture and tend the Lord's vineyard, to help realise his
dream, his loving plan for his people. In this case the Lord is asking us to
care for the family, which has been from the beginning an integral part of his
loving plan for humanity".
 "We are all sinners and can also be tempted to 'take over' the vineyard,
because of that greed which is always present in us human beings. God's dream
always clashes with the hypocrisy of some of his servants. We can 'thwart'
God's dream if we fail to let ourselves be guided by the Holy Spirit. The
Spirit gives us that wisdom which surpasses knowledge, and enables us to work
generously with authentic freedom and humble creativity". The Holy Father
concluded, "to do a good job of nurturing and tending the vineyard, our hearts
and our minds must be kept in Jesus Christ by 'the peace of God which passes
all understanding'. In this way our thoughts and plans will correspond to
God's dream: to form a holy people who are his own and produce the fruits of
the kingdom of God".

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 Angelus: "A Bible for every family, to read often"
 Vatican City, 5 October 2014 (VIS) - At midday, following the celebration of
the Holy Mass for the inauguration of the Synod, the Holy Father appeared at
the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to pray the Angelus
with the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square. He thanked the Pauline
brothers who distributed Bibles to mark the centenary of their foundation.
"With the inauguration of the Synod on the Family, with the help of the
Pauline brothers we can say, a Bible in every family", he said, remarking that
"the Bible is not to be kept on a shelf, but rather kept at hand to be read
often, every day, individually or together, husband and wife, parents and
children, perhaps in the evening, especially on Sunday. In this way the family
grows and goes forth, with the light and strength of the Word of God".
 The bishop of Rome invited all to "support the work of the Synod with prayer,
invoking the maternal intercession of the Virgin Mary". He added, "In this
moment we join spiritually with those who, in the Shrine of Pompeii, elevate
the traditional 'Supplication' to Our Lady of the Rosary. May she obtain peace
for families and for the entire world".

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 Prayer vigil for the Synod: may the Synod Fathers be able to listen to God
and to the People
 Vatican City, 5 October 2014 (VIS) - At 6 p.m. yesterday, Saturday, in St.
Peter's Square, a prayer vigil was held for the Third Extraordinary General
Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, organised by the Presidency of the Italian
Episcopal Conference. The Synod Fathers participated in the event, which
alternated moments of prayer with reflection and testimonies of family life.
At 7 p.m., the Holy Father joined the families and the faithful to say, "This
is the time at which we willingly return home to find ourselves at the same
table, surrounded by affection, the good we have done and received, the
encounters that have warmed the heart or helped it grow, the good wine that
offers us a glimpse in our days of the feast without end. It is also the most
difficult time for those who find themselves face to face with their own
solitude, in the bitter twilight of shattered dreams and unfulfilled plans:
how many people pass their days in the blind alley of resignation, neglect,
even rancour; in how many homes is there a lack of the good wine of joy and
thus of the flavour, the very knowledge, of life. This evening let us become
the voice of prayer for all; a prayer for all".
 Francis went on to speak about "the communion of life assumed by married
couples, their openness to the gift of life, mutual care, the encounter and
the memory of generations, educational accompaniment, the transmission of
Christian faith to children ... in all this, the family continues to be an
unequalled school in humanity, an indispensable contribution to a just and
caring society. And the deeper its roots are, the further it is possible to go
in life without becoming lost or feeling like a stranger in any land. This
horizon helps us to grasp the importance of the Synod Assembly that opens
tomorrow".
 "To seek what the Lord asks of His Church now, we must listen to the
heartbeat of our times and perceive the spirit of humanity today, remaining
impressed by their joys and hopes, their sadness and anguish. At that point we
will know how to propose credibly the good news on the family". Before
concluding the Pope asked the Holy Spirit to offer the Synod Fathers the gift
of listening to God and His people, invoking a sincere, open and fraternal
encounter enabling them to face with pastoral responsibility the questions
that come with changing times, yet always looking to Jesus Christ. He added,
"With the joy of the Gospel we will recover the traces of a reconciled and
merciful Church, poor and a friend to the poor; a Church able, 'in patience
and in love, to overcome its sorrows and its challenges, both within itself
and from without'".

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 Francis to disabled athletes: your testimony is a great sign of hope
 Vatican City, 4 October 2014 (VIS) - This morning, in the Vatican's Paul VI
Hall, the Pope received in audience seven thousand disabled athletes, members
of the Italian Paralympic Committee. In his address he remarked that sport
promotes contact and relations with people from different cultures and
environments, and helps us become accustomed to accepting difference,
transforming it into an opportunity for mutual enrichment and discovery.
"Above all", he affirmed, "sport becomes a valuable opportunity to recognise
that we are brothers and sisters walking side by side, to favour a culture of
inclusion and to reject throwaway culture".
 Francis reiterated that this aspect of sport becomes even more evident in
relation to disabled athletes, because the physical disability they
experience, "through sport and healthy competition, is transformed into a
message of encouragement" for those who find themselves in similar situations,
and becomes "an invitation to devote all your energies to doing good things
together, overcoming barriers that we may encounter around us, and above all,
those inside us".

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