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   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    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".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    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".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    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'".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    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".   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)