Given the current centrality of the theme of the family in the Catholic world, Archbishop Emeritus Barry Hickey, of Perth, recently spoke to eRecord journalist Marco Ceccarelli about his experience of attending the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia from 22 to 27 September 2015.
Attended by more than a million people, the event proved to be overwhelmingly successful and paved the way for the Synod of Bishops in Rome which immediately followed.
“Seeing so many families present at this event was truly gratifying,” said Archbishop Emeritus Hickey, looking back at a Congress for which he travelled an estimated 18,673km, the furthest travelled by any of the 15,000 participants.
“Normally, it is rare to see children present at international gatherings such as these as it can be expensive to bring them. This event, however, featured special events for the children while the adults attended the talks and discussions,” he said.
Together with thousands of people from more than 100 countries around the globe, Emeritus Archbishop Hickey was able to attend most of the presentations and keynote addresses given throughout the meeting.
Delivered by numerous high-profile speakers who shed light on the value of the family in the 21st century, the presentations built up much anticipation for the visit of Pope Francis at the Festival of Families on 26 September and the outdoor Mass on 27 September.
“Conferences like this one focus on the elements that nourish family life, drawing on the Gospel virtues that help build a happy home,” Emeritus Archbishop Hickey said.
“On many occasions, speakers noted the research that shows large families produce the happiest adults – something that is very important and which, to me, merits more media attention.”
The Archbishop Emeritus lamented the secular media coverage of the event as a whole, stating that, in light of the growing cynicism towards the family in today’s society, more attention could have been directed towards the valuable family discussions presented by the speakers.
“The secular media unfortunately did not cover the meeting well until the Pope arrived. Then, all the attention was on him and the family discussions were forgotten,” he said.
“This is unfortunate as easy divorce laws and the problems that flow from divorce: remarriage, divorce again, and so on, have made people cynical about marriage and family life. The children suffer from the consequences of frequent disruptions, and many young people avoid marriage by simply living together.”
Commenting on what more could be done to reinforce importance of the family among our Catholic community in Perth, the Archbishop Emeritus Hickey stated that the family home needs to be the place where the beauty of the family nucleus is passed on to the children.
“Family celebrations could be more frequent. Parents could be given more help to be the first teachers of their children, instead of leaving all the teaching to the schools.
“Now that new ideas about marriage are gaining popularity, young people need far better catechesis on what Christian marriage is all about because it is not just one of a number of types of marriage but it represents the will of God for humanity, and is based in Holy Scripture, not state legislation,” he concluded.
The World Meeting of Families is a four-day international conference generally held every three years and often in conjunction with a Papal visit. It was initiated by Pope St John Paul II in 1992 with the goal of strengthening family bonds.
The theme for this year’s World Meeting of Families was Love Is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive.
This is the first time the meeting will be held in the United States. Other meetings have been held in Manila, Mexico City, Rome and Rio de Janeiro.