Palermo, Italy, Oct 4, 2010 / 03:17 am
Speaking from a historical mafia stronghold on Sunday, the Holy Father raised his voice against evil and organized crime. He invited Sicilian families to instead take courage in the joy and strength found in the "big family" of the Church, a "sign and instrument of unity, peace and true liberty."
In addition to morning Mass, the Holy Father had two encounters on Sunday afternoon during his pastoral visit to Palermo, the capital city of the Italian island of Sicily and longtime hotspot of Mafia activity. Meeting first with priests, men and women religious and seminarians for Eucharistic adoration in the cathedral, he later went on to the city's Politeama Square for a celebration with young people and families, before returning to Rome.
In the cathedral, he emphasized the importance of prayer to the fulfilment of vocations, while to the throng of 30,000 gathered in and around Politeama Square, he reinforced the value of the family in life.
Observing during the latter occasion that it is the family that sows the first seeds that form one's perceptions of the meaning of life, he said that parents are the "first collaborators of God" in transmitting life and faith to their children.