Vatican City, Oct 28, 2017 / 09:36 am
In a lengthy speech to civil and ecclesiastical leaders of Europe on Saturday, Pope Francis defended the family as being made up of a man and woman open to life – saying that this fundamental community is also a model for secular communities.
"The family is the harmonious union of the differences between man and woman, which becomes stronger and more authentic to the extent that it is fruitful, capable of opening itself to life and to others."
"Secular communities, likewise, are alive when they are capable of openness, embracing the differences and gifts of each person while at the same time generating new life, development, labor, innovation and culture," the Pope said Oct. 28.
In the family we find an example for all types of community, he continued, where "diversity is valued and at the same time brought into unity."