At the General Audience, on October 1, Pope Francis asked faithful to pray for him during the Synod and about his trip to Cuba and the US: “God always wants to build bridges; we are the ones who build walls! But walls fall down, always!".
“The family needs to be the new starting point for rethinking and changing the pattern of development, for the good of the entire human family." The Pope said this in his first General Audience since his return from the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, asking the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square to pray for the Ordinary Synod on the Family which begins Sunday. Speaking about his visit to Cuba and the US (19-28 September), Francis underlined that in the 20th century the US reached “maximum levels of economic and technological development without rejecting its religious roots,” he also reflected on the figure of Junípero Serra, whom the Pope recently canonized in Washington, highlighting the “Christian roots” of the Cuban people and emphasising that a “bridge” is being built between Cuba and the US “thanks to God”: “God always wants to build bridges, we are the ones who build walls! But walls fall down, always!”
“'Misionero de la Misericordia': That’s how I presented myself in Cuba, a land rich in natural beauty, culture and faith. The mercy of God is greater than any wound, any conflict, any ideology; and with this gaze of mercy I could embrace the whole Cuban people, at home and abroad, beyond all division.” After recalling his pilgrimage to the Virgin of Charity of Cobre, Francis, who played a vital role in the turning point in US-Cuban relations, stressed: "I was able to share with the Cuban people the hope of the fulfilment of the prophecy of St. John Paul II: that Cuba open to the world and the world open to Cuba. No more closures, no more exploitation of poverty, but freedom in dignity. This is the path that shakes the hearts of many young Cubans: not a way of escape of easy money, but of responsibility, of service to others, of care for the weak. A path that draws strength from the Christian roots of the people, who have suffered so much. A path in which I encouraged especially the priests and all consecrated persons, students and families. May the Holy Spirit, through the intercession of Mary Most Holy, nurture the seeds that we have laid."
The journey "from Cuba to the United States of America was a symbolic step,” Francis said, “a bridge thank God that is being rebuilt. God always wants to build bridges; we are the ones who build walls! But walls fall down, always! "
“In Washington, I met with the political authorities, ordinary people, the Bishops, priests and consecrated persons, the poor and marginalized. I reminded them that the greatest wealth of the country and its people are their spiritual and ethical heritage,” Francis said, hardly looking away from his prepared text. “And so I wanted to provide incentives to pursue the social construction in fidelity to its basic principle, namely, that all men are created equal by God and endowed with inalienable rights such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These values, shared by all, found their fulfilment in the Gospel, as was underlined in the canonization of Father Junipero Serra, a Franciscan, a great evangelizer of California. Saint Junipero shows the path of joy: to go and share with others the love of Christ. This is the path of the Christian, but also of every man that has known love: to not keep for himself but to share it with others. The United States of America was born and raised on this religious and moral foundation, and on this foundation they can continue to be a land of liberty and welcome and to cooperation to a more just and fraternal world.”
Francis also reiterated that, "talking to the representatives of the nations” at the UN headquarters in New York in the footsteps of my predecessors, I renewed my encouragement and that of the Catholic Church to the institution and its role in promoting development and peace, recalling in particular the need for united and effective efforts for the care of creation. I also reaffirmed the call to stop and prevent violence against ethnic and religious minorities and against civilian populations … Both in Washington and in New York I visited some charitable and educational realities emblematic of the enormous service that the Catholic communities - priests, religious, lay people - offer in these fields.”
"The high point of the trip was the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, where the horizon expanded to take in the whole world, through the 'prism', so to speak, of the family. he family, that is, the fruitful covenant between man and woman, is the answer to the great challenge of our world, which is a double challenge: fragmentation and standardization, two extremes which coexist and support each other, and together they support the economic model of consumerism. he family is the answer because it is the cell of a society that balances the personal and community dimension, and that at the same time can be the model of a sustainable management of goods and resources of creation. The family is the principal agent of an ecology drive, because it is the primary social subject, which contains within itself the two basic principles of human civilization on earth: the principle of communion and the principle of fecundity.”
After expressing a “warm fraternal thanks” to the Archbishop of Philadelphia, Mgr. Chaput, “for his efforts, his piety, his enthusiasm and the great love for the family which he showed by organising this event,” Francis concluded: "In hindsight, it is no accident, rather it is providential, that the message, indeed, the testimony of the World Meeting of Families should come right now from the United States of America, that is the country that in the last century has reached the maximum economic and technological development without rejecting its religious roots. Now these same roots are asking us to start afresh from the family to rethink and change the pattern of development, for the good of the entire human family."
At the start of the catechesis the Pope explained to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square, that a group of sick people was watching the audience on big screens in the Paul VI Hall: “Since the weather isn’t great we chose to accommodate them there to make them feel more comfortable and so that they are sheltered from the rain.” “Let us join together and greet one another”.
