Zagreb, Croatia, Jun 5, 2011 / 10:10 am
Pope Benedict has given an emotional plea for all people to recognize the beauty, joy and witness of Christian marriage and family life, and to reject secularism, artificial contraception and co-habitation because they are opposed to true love.
“Everyone knows that the Christian family is a special sign of the presence and love of Christ and that it is called to give a specific and irreplaceable contribution to evangelization,” the Pope told over 400,000 pilgrims at Croatia’s first annual family day in the nation’s capital of Zagreb, on June 5.
“In today’s society the presence of exemplary Christian families is more necessary and urgent than ever,” he said.
The gathering at the city’s Hippodrome racetrack was the highlight of the Pope’s two-day visit to Croatia. In his homily he extolled both the virtues of Catholic family life and flatly rejected many of the modern attacks upon it.