Families with strong values needed — Pope

The world needs families with strong values, Pope Leo XIV said Wednesday as he delivered a homily at the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square with Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle.

“The world has no future without strong families open to the gift of children and attentive to their education and growth,” the Pope stated in his homily.

The pontiff lamented that “sadly in many parts of the world today the practice of praying together at home for meals at the beginning and end of the day and on special occasions has fallen away.”

The Pope recommended that families gather regularly to promote spiritual growth and solidarity in life’s concrete demands.

He also stressed the importance of family spirituality through prayer and participation in Sunday’s Eucharist.

Vital family practice

The pontiff said, “Common prayer and the sacraments play a vital role in family life because they open hearts.”

“I therefore strongly urged everyone to rediscover and encourage these practices,” Pope Leo XIV said.

Tagle led the Mass at St. Peter’s Square on behalf of the Pope, who is recovering from surgery.

The Pope underwent lung surgery at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.

Last Sunday, 11 October, the 71-year-old pontiff announced that he will undergo surgery after doctors discovered a small nodule in his lung during a recent medical examination.

His doctors subsequently diagnosed him with lung adenocarcinoma.