by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
I thank His Grace for allowing me to represent the Archdiocese at two major events at the Vatican recently. Since I had planned to be in London around the time of these events, this facilitated my trip to Rome. The first event was a Conference held during the October 23-25 21st Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Family (PCF) on the theme New Anthropological horizons and the rights of the family.
At the centre of the discussion was the Charter of the Rights of the Family which was presented by the Holy See on October 22, 1983 “to all persons, institutions and authorities concerned with the mission of the family in today’s world”.
H E Msgr Vincenzo Paglia, President of the PCF, introduced the working session and reminded us that it is important to rediscover the rights our families must have. It is significant, he said, that we were meeting at a time when Pope Francis has called a 3rd extraordinary general assembly of the Bishops’ Synod to be held in the Vatican from October 5-19, 2014 on the theme: “The Pastoral challenges of the family in the context of Evangelisation.”
Leela Ramdeen meets Pope Francis on October 25, 2013 during a private audience with members of the Pontifical Council for the Family.
On October 25, I was fortunate to be among members of the PCF and Consulters of the PCF when we had a Private Audience with the Holy Father, Pope Francis. Although only a few persons had been identified to greet him personally, he shook hands with each of us. Eloquence failed me as he held my hand with both of his, I simply blurted out: “Holy Father, I am Leela Ramdeen, your Caribbean neighbour from Trinidad and Tobago….” Both he and Msgr Paglia laughed along with me. He asked me to pray for him.
You can read Pope Francis’ excellent address via the following Zenit link:
http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-s-address-to-21st-plenary-assembly-of-the-pontifical-council-for-the-family. He focused on three key points, referring to the family as “the engine of the world and of history”. “The family”, he said, “is a community of life which has its autonomous foundation. As Blessed John Paul II wrote in the Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio, the family is not the sum of the persons that constitute it, but a ‘community of persons’ (cf. Nos. 17-18). It is the place where one learns to love, the natural centre of human life. It is made up of faces, of persons who love, talk, sacrifice for others and defend life, especially the most fragile, the weakest.”
Secondly, he reminded us that “the family is founded on matrimony”, the “first sacrament of the human…Spousal and family love also reveals clearly the person’s vocation to love in a unique way and forever, and that the trials, the sacrifices, the crises of the couple as those of the family itself represent passages to grow in the good, in truth and in beauty…In matrimony one gives oneself completely without calculations or reservations, sharing everything, gifts and renunciations, trusting in the Providence of God.”
Finally, he referred to “two phases of family life: childhood and old age. Children and the elderly represent the two poles of life and also the most vulnerable, often the most forgotten. A society that abandons children and marginalises the elderly cuts off its roots and darkens its future. Every time that a child is abandoned and an elderly person is marginalised, not only is an act of injustice committed but the failure of that society is confirmed. To take care of little ones and the elderly is a choice of civilisation … The ‘good news’ of the family is a very important part of evangelisation, which Christians can communicate to all, with the witness of life…The truly Christian families are recognised by their fidelity, patience, openness to life, respect of the elderly … The secret of all this is Jesus’ presence in the family.”
On Saturday, October 26, the Holy Father presided over an event at St Peter’s Square where over 150,000 families from around the world met in a “Pilgrimage of families to the tomb of St Peter for the Year of Faith”. The theme was Experience the joy of Faith. We listened to reflections, music and testimonies. It was truly a family affair.
On Sunday, October 27, my five-day stay in Rome ended with the Solemn celebration of the Mass at St Peter’s Square, presided over by Pope Francis. I was fortunate to be given a pass, along with members of PCF and the Consulters, to sit to the right of the altar. Sitting in the third row, I felt truly blessed. What an experience. Our faith is alive!
