Pope Francis met with the academic community of the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences in the Vatican on Monday morning, encouraging continued collaboration with scholars and cultural institutions to better support Catholic spouses and families.
Citing Pope St. Paul VI’s 1975 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, which highlights “the rupture between the Gospel and culture,” the pope said it is necessary that the institute continues to develop a “critical understanding” of the anthropological and cultural challenges affecting marriage and family life today.
“The ability to fully carry out the evangelizing mission that engages every Christian depends on the ability to face these challenges,” the pope said to members of the pontifical institute.
The John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences, which has its main headquarters in Rome, also has branches in other countries including the U.S., Nigeria, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, India and South Korea.
“It is good that the Institute’s branches, present in different countries of the world, carry out their activities in dialogue with scholars and cultural institutions, even those with different approaches,” the Holy Father said during the private audience.
To support the mission of spouses and families as “witnesses of fidelity, service, openness to life, and welcome,” the pope insisted that unmarried couples living together who are “postponing their marital commitment, as well as divorced and remarried people, require particular spiritual accompaniment and must not be excluded.”
“The Church does not close the door to those who struggle on the path of faith, indeed, she throws the door wide open, because everyone ‘needs merciful and encouraging pastoral attention’ (Amoris Laetitia, 293),” he said.
“Without excluding anyone, the Church promotes the family, founded on marriage, contributing in every place and at every time to make the conjugal bond more solid,” he added.
Following the Vatican’s monthlong global Synod on Synodality meetings in October, the Holy Father said there is a heightened “ecclesial awareness” for the proper recognition and participation of the lay faithful in the life and mission of the Church.
“We know how decisive marriage and the family are for the life of peoples: the Church has always cared for them, supported them and evangelized them,” the pope said.
During the audience, the pope also praised the institute’s work in promoting the “gospel of the family,” particularly in “countries where public authorities do not respect the dignity and freedom to which every human being has an inalienable right as a child of God.”
Referring to the evangelizing witness of Catholic families, the pope said “it is this gospel that helps everyone, in every culture, to always seek what is in accordance with humanity and with the desire for salvation rooted in every man and every woman.”
“In this regard, let us remember that the first Christian communities developed in a domestic form, expanding family units by welcoming new believers, and they met in homes,” he said.
The John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences was formed in 2017, following Pope Francis’ motu proprio Summa familiae cura and replacing the former institute founded by John Paul II in 1981.
The institute is affiliated with the Congregation for Catholic Education, the Pontifical Academy of Life, and the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.
This article was originally published on Catholic News Agency.
