VATICAN CITY, OCT. 16, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says he has high hopes for the meeting of Christian families at their 6th World Meeting, to be held in January 2009 in Mexico.
The Pope said this in an Oct. 1 letter sent to Cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, published Friday by the Vatican press office.
The Holy Father attended the last World Meeting of Families, held in July in Valencia, Spain, but the letter does not confirm whether the Pope intends to be present in Mexico.
Benedict XVI's note does explain his objective for the world meeting: "In these times in which it is notable that there is a frequent contradiction between what is professed as belief and concrete ways of living and acting, the next World Meeting of Families proposes to encourage Christian households in the formation of a right moral conscience that, strengthened by the grace of God, helps in the faithful following of his will, which he has revealed to us through Jesus Christ and which he has sowed in the depths of the heart of each person."
The Pope said that families, as "domestic churches," are called to form new generations in human and Christian values so that "orienting their lives according to the model of Christ, they forge in themselves harmonious personalities."
The Holy Father continued, "I pray to the Lord that the process of preparation and celebration of this event be enlightened by his grace and that it becomes for families, both those that attend the event and those that spiritually unite themselves to it, a special occasion to live with joy their personal vocation and mission."
The World Meeting of Families was begun in 1994 by Pope John Paul II, coinciding with the U.N. Year of the Family. Since then, the meetings have been held every three years.
ZE07101609 - 2007-10-16