special paragraphs dedicated to immigrants, refugees and persecuted families   
   who   
   are often divided and whose members can become victims of trafficking. A   
   welcoming approach was invoked for them too, recalling their rights and also   
   their duties in their host countries.   
    There are specific paragraphs on women, men and children, the mainstays of   
   family life: the text emphasises the need for the protection and the   
   recognition   
   of the value of their respective roles. It is hoped that a more prominent role   
   will be identified for women in the formation of ordained ministers, while in   
   relation to children mention was made of the beauty of adoption and fostering,   
   practices which reconstruct ruptured family bonds. The Synod does not forget   
   widows and widowers, the disabled, the elderly and grandparents, who enable the   
   transmission of faith in the family and must be protected from the throwaway   
   culture. Unmarried people must also be acknowledged for their commitment to the   
   Church and society.   
    Among the "shadows" that are frequently cast on the family, the Synod notes   
   the   
   presence of political and religious fanaticism hostile to Christianity, growing   
   individualism, gender ideology, conflicts, persecution, poverty, precarious   
   employment, corruption, economic difficulties that can exclude families from   
   education and culture, the globalisation of indifference in which humanity's   
   place at the centre of society is usurped by money, pornography, and the   
   declining birth rate.   
    The Relation therefore gathers together suggestions for strengthening   
   preparation for marriage, especially for the young who appear intimidated by   
   it.   
   They are in need, says the Synod, of an adequate emotional formation, following   
   the virtues of chastity and self-giving. In this regard, mention was made of   
   the   
   bond between the sexual act and procreation between spouses, of which children   
   are the most precious fruit, since they bear the memory and hope of an act of   
   love. Another bond is that between the vocation of the family and the vocation   
   to consecrated life. Education in sexuality and corporeality and the promotion   
   of responsible parenting would also be central, in accordance with the   
   teachings   
   of Paul VI's encyclical "Humanae Vitae" and the primary role of parents in the   
   education of their children in faith.   
    An appeal is launched to institutions to promote an support policies in favour   
   of the family, and Catholics engaged in politics are exhorted to protect the   
   family and life, as a society that neglects them loses its openness to the   
   future. In this respect, the Synod reaffirms the sacredness of life from   
   conception to natural death, and warns against the grave threats posed to the   
   family by abortion and euthanasia. Further paragraphs are dedicated to mixed   
   marriages, whose positive aspects in relation to ecumenical and interreligious   
   dialogue are underlined, while confirming the need to protect religious freedom   
   and the right to conscientious objection in society.   
    The text includes extensive reflection on the need to modify the language of   
   the Church, making it more meaningful so that the proclamation of the Gospel of   
   the family may truly respond to the deepest human aspirations. This means not   
   only presenting a series of regulations but rather announcing the grace that   
   gives the capacity to live well the good of the family.   
    Finally, the Relatio emphasises the beauty of the family: as a domestic church   
   based on marriage between a man and a woman, the fundamental cell of the   
   society   
   whose growth it contributes, a safe entry to the deepest sentiments, the sole   
   point of connection in a fragmented age, and an integral part of human ecology,   
   it must be protected, supported and encouraged, also by the authorities.   
    The document concludes by a plea to the Synod Fathers by the Pope, regarding   
   the possibility of producing a document on the family. As Fr. Lombardi   
   explains,   
   "The Synod Fathers do not say that all is complete, but affirm that they offer   
   the Relatio to the Holy Father to enable him to evaluate whether to continue on   
   this route with a document, on the basis of the Synod text, to further examine   
   the theme of the family from the perspective he wishes to offer. 'We continue   
   on   
   our path'".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Closing Mass of the Synod: what the people sow today in tears, they will reap   
   tomorrow in joy   
    Vatican City, 24 October 2015 (VIS) - This Sunday the Pope celebrated Mass for   
   the conclusion of the 14th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.   
   In   
   his homily, he reflects on the day's three readings that show us the compassion   
   and paternity of God, revealed in Jesus.   
    "In the midst of a national disaster, the people deported by their enemies,   
   the   
   prophet Jeremiah proclaims that 'the Lord has saved His people, the remnant of   
   Israel'. Why did He save them? Because He is their Father; and as a Father, He   
   takes care of His children and accompanies them on the way, sustaining 'the   
   blind and the lame, the women with child and those in labour'. His fatherhood   
   opens up for them a path forward, a way of consolation after so many tears and   
   great sadness. If the people remain faithful, if they persevere in their search   
   for God even in a foreign land, God will change their captivity into freedom,   
   their solitude into communion: what the people sow today in tears, they will   
   reap tomorrow in joy.   
    "We too have expressed, with the Psalm, the joy which is the fruit of the   
   Lord's salvation: 'our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongues with   
   shouts of joy'. A believer is someone who has experienced God's salvific action   
   in his life. We pastors have experienced what it means to sow with difficulty,   
   at times in tears, and to rejoice for the grace of a harvest which is beyond   
   our   
   strength and capacity. The passage from the Letter to the Hebrews shows us   
   Jesus' compassion. He also 'is beset with weakness', so that He can feel   
   compassion for those in ignorance and error. Jesus is the great high priest,   
   holy and innocent, but also the high priest Who has taken on our weakness and   
   been tempted like us in all things, save sin. For this reason He is the   
   mediator   
   of the new and definitive covenant which brings us salvation.   
    "Today's Gospel is directly linked to the First Reading: as the people of   
   Israel were freed thanks to God's fatherhood, so too Bartimaeus is freed thanks   
   to Jesus' compassion. Jesus has just left Jericho. Even though He has only   
   begun   
   His most important journey, which will take Him to Jerusalem, He still stops to   
   respond to Bartimaeus' cry. Jesus is moved by his request and becomes involved   
   in his situation. He is not content to offer him alms, but rather wants to   
   personally encounter him. He does not give him any instruction or response, but   
   asks him: 'What do you want me to do for you?'. It might seem a senseless   
   question: what could a blind man wish for if not his sight? Yet, with this   
   question made face to face, direct but respectful, Jesus shows that He wants to   
   hear our needs. He wants to talk with each of us about our lives, our real   
   situations, so that nothing is kept from Him. After Bartimaeus' healing, the   
   Lord tells him: 'Your faith has made you well'. It is beautiful to see how   
   Christ admires Bartimaeus' faith, how He has confidence in him. He believes in   
   us, more than we believe in ourselves.   
    "There is an interesting detail. Jesus asks His disciples to go and call   
   Bartimaeus. They address the blind man with two expressions, which only Jesus   
   uses in the rest of the Gospel. First they say to him: 'Take heart!', meaning   
   'have faith, strong courage!'. Indeed, only an encounter with Jesus gives a   
   person the strength to face the most difficult situations. The second   
   expression   
   is 'Rise!', as Jesus said to so many of the sick, whom He took by the hand and   
   healed. His disciples do nothing other than repeat Jesus' encouraging and   
   liberating words, leading him directly to Jesus, without lecturing him. Jesus'   
   disciples are called to this, even today, especially today: to bring people   
   into   
   contact with the compassionate Mercy that saves. When humanity's cry, like   
   Bartimaeus', becomes stronger still, there is no other response than to make   
   Jesus' words our own and, above all, imitate His heart. Moments of suffering   
   and   
   conflict are for God occasions of mercy. Today is a time of mercy.   
    "There are, however, some temptations for those who follow Jesus. ... None of   
   the   
   disciples stopped, as Jesus did. They continued to walk, going on as if nothing   
   were happening. If Bartimaeus was blind, they were deaf: his problem was not   
   their problem. This can be a danger for us: in the face of constant problems,   
   it   
   is better to move on, instead of letting ourselves be bothered. In this way,   
   just like the disciples, we are with Jesus but we do not think like Him. ... We   
   are able to speak about Him and work for Him, but we live far from His heart,   
   which is reaching out to those who are wounded. This is the temptation: a   
   'spirituality of illusion'".   
    "There is a second temptation, that of falling into a 'scheduled faith'. We   
   are   
   able to walk with the People of God, but we already have our schedule for the   
   journey, where everything is listed: we know where to go and how long it will   
   take; everyone must respect our rhythm and every problem is a bother. ...   
   Jesus,   
   on the other hand, wants to include, above all those kept on the fringes who   
   are   
   crying out to Him. They, like Bartimaeus, have faith, because awareness of the   
   need for salvation is the best way of encountering Jesus".   
    "Dear Synod Fathers, we have walked together", he concluded. "Thank you for   
   the   
   path we have shared with our eyes fixed on Jesus and our brothers and sisters,   
   in the search for the paths which the Gospel indicates for our times so that we   
   can proclaim the mystery of family love. Let us follow the path that the Lord   
   desires. Let us ask Him to turn to us with His healing and saving gaze, which   
   knows how to radiate light, as it recalls the splendour which illuminates it.   
   Never allowing ourselves to be tarnished by pessimism or sin, let us seek and   
   look upon the glory of God, which shines forth in men and women who are fully   
   alive".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The first to walk with us is our Father   
    Vatican City, 26 October 2015 (VIS) - Following the Holy Mass for the   
   conclusion of the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, celebrated   
   in St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study to   
   pray the Angelus with the faithful and pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square.   
   Before the Marian prayer, the Pope invited those present to "give thanks to God   
   for these three weeks of intense work, inspired by prayer and by a spirit of   
   authentic communion. It has been arduous but it was a true gift from God, which   
   will surely bear many fruits". He explained that "the word 'Synod' means 'to   
   walk together' and reflected on the Synod experience, also mentioning the   
   continuing refugee crisis.   
    "This Word of God tells us that the first Who wishes to walk together with us,   
   to have a 'synod' with us is ... our Father. His 'dream' is, and has always   
   been,   
   to form a people, to bring them together, leading them toward the land of   
   freedom and peace. And this people is made up of families, the 'mothers and   
   those with child'; it is a people that, as it proceeds, perpetrates life, with   
   God's blessing. ... I confess to you that I compare this prophecy of the   
   journeying people with the images of refugees on the streets of Europe, a   
   dramatic situation in our days. God too says to them, 'They departed in tears,   
   but I will console them and guide them; I will lead them to brooks of water'.   
   Even those families who suffer the most, who have been uprooted from their   
   lands, were present with us in the Synod, in our prayers and in our work,   
   through the voices of some of their pastors present in the Assembly. These   
   people in search of dignity, these families looking for peace are still with   
   us.   
   The Church does not abandon them, because they belong to the people that God   
   wants to free from slavery and lead to freedom".   
    After praying the Angelus, Pope Francis greeted pilgrims from several   
   countries, especially the Brotherhood of the Lord of Miracles of Rome, "who   
   with   
   great devotion have brought the image venerated in Lima, Peru", the musical   
   pilgrims of the "Musikverein Manhartsberg" from the Austrian diocese of Vienna   
   and the Orchestra of Landwehr, Fribourg, Switzerland, who had performed in a   
   concert for charity the previous day.   
      
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)