July 14, 2006
Dear Family,
These have been some wonderful weeks of summer with fewer demands for programs and services, freeing up some time to purge files, plan programs, and look to the future.
I have been following the Holy Father’s trip to Valencia, Spain and his convening of the 5th World Meeting of Families. In a special address to all gathered, he invited “government leaders and legislators to reflect on the evident benefits which homes in peace and harmony assure to individuals and the family, the neuralgic center of society.”
The Pope said that, “The purpose of laws is the integral good of men and women in response to their needs and aspirations…. This good is a significant help to society, of which it cannot be deprived,” he stressed. Moreover, “The family is also a school which enables men and women to grow to the full measure of their humanity and the experience of being loved by their parents helps children to become aware of their dignity as children.”
The Holy Father also honored grandparents’ role in the family. In the only improvised section of his discourse at the vigil, the Pope stressed the important role that grandparents have in families. Before ending his address with a prayer, he said that grandparents, “Can be – and so many times are – the guarantors of the affection and tenderness which every human being needs to give and receive.” He went on, “They offer little ones the perspective of time; they are the memory and richness of families. They are a treasure which the younger generation should not be denied, especially when they bear witness to their faith at the approach of death,” he stressed.
On a more humorous note, shortly before actor Lino Banfi explained that when he was told that he is the “Grandfather of Italy,” he replied saying, “Then the Pope is the Grandfather of the World.” The Pontiff said that he wished to dedicate a special passage of his address to grandparents “so important in families” and added with a smile, “and I am the grandfather of the world, we have heard.”
May these summer weeks find you taking time for your families.
Love,
Father Nick Amato
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