Pope Francis: liberty, fidelity cornerstones of family

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis held his weekly General Audience this Wednesday in St. Peter's Square. In his remarks to the faithful gathered in the Square, Pope Francis returned to the theme of the family, recalling that the family is the natural social institution and the foundation of all human society, based on liberty and fidelity. He said that our ability to give our word and to keep it is one of the great and distinguishing capacities of human being. "Fidelity to promises is a masterpiece of humanity," he said. "If we look at its daring beauty, we are afraid, but if we despise its courageous tenacity, we are lost." Please find the official English-language summary of the Holy Father's catechetical reflections, below

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Dear Brothers and Sisters:  In our catechesis on the family, we spoke last week about the promises we make to our children by bringing them into the world.  Today we consider the promise of love and fidelity made between husbands and wives, which is the basis of all family life.  This promise is called into question nowadays, and seen as somehow opposed to personal freedom.  Yet the truth is that our freedom is shaped and sustained by our fidelity to the choices and commitments we make throughout life.  Fidelity grows through our daily efforts to keep our word; indeed, fidelity to our promises is a supreme expression of our dignity as human beings.  There is no greater “school” to teach us such fidelity than marriage and the family, which are, in God’s plan, a blessing for our world.  Saint Paul tells us that the love which grounds the family points to the bond of love between Christ and the Church.  In these days of the Synod on the Family, let us pray that the Church will uphold and strengthen the promise of the family, with creativity and with unfailing trust in that faithful love by which the Lord fulfils his every promise.