Vatican City, Dec 4, 2005 / 22:00 pm
On Saturday, Pope Benedict XVI met with representatives of Latin American family and life groups, to whom he stressed the value of human life in the face of new ethical issues, and the need for faithfulness, and openness to life within marriage.
The group was made up of presidents of the Latin American Episcopal Commissions for the Family and Life, meeting in Rome over the weekend. The meeting was promoted by the Pontifical Council for the Family, headed by Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo.
Recalling the great interest of his predecessor, John Paul II, on the pastoral care of the family, Benedict said that "for my part, I share this same concern which to a large extent affects the future of the Church and of peoples."
"Your duty as pastors," he said, "is to present the extraordinary value of marriage in all its richness; as a natural institution, it is 'the heritage of humanity.'“