In an unscripted talk to a gathering of thousands in Philadelphia on Saturday evening, the Pope gave an impassioned defence of the family as a living example of God’s love.
Francis said he knew that family life was difficult, that husbands and wives argue and that children bring their challenges to married couples.
But he said that difficulties “are overcome with love” and the family is “a factory of hope and resurrection.”
To applause and cheers from the crowd attending a prayer vigil at Benjamin Franklin Parkway during the penultimate day of his US visit, Francis said: "the most beautiful thing God did was the family. He created man, he created woman and he gave them everything, the world.”
Referring to the story of Adam and Eve he said that the love that God had given man and woman “was almost lost.” But, the Pope added, God gave his only son to humanity and “sent him to the world through a family.”
Francis stressed that the family was important in order to look after children and grandparents and a society that fails to do so “has no future.” This, he explained, is because children are a source of strength and grandparents a “living memory.”
In his prepared text the Pope said family life should be supported through decent healthcare, employment and housing, in effect listing the practical difficulties facing families in America.
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On two occasions Francis cited a medical system that “fails to meet peoples needs” saying it “is insensitive to their pain, and forces them to make great sacrifices adequate treatment.”
He also talked about “families who lack employment and worker’s rights” which mean that parents are unable to give their best to their children and overcrowded housing that prevent the building of bonds of “closeness”.
The focus on practical pressures on the family moves away from a culture war rhetoric focussed on abortion, gay marriage and contraception often seen in the United States.
“We cannot call any society healthy when it does not leave real room for family life. We cannot think that a society has a future when it fails to pass laws capable of protecting families and ensuring their basic needs, especially those of families just starting out,” the Pope said.
“How many problems would be solved if our societies protected families and provided households, especially those of recently married couples, with the possibility of dignified work, housing and healthcare services to accompany them throughout life.”
Francis also stressed that “no family is perfect” but that this fact should not discourage people.
The Pope said: “love grows as it is ‘forged’ by the concrete situations which each particular family experiences. Love is born and constantly develops amid lights and shadows. Love can flourish in men and women who try not to make conflict the last word, but rather a new opportunity.”
Tomorrow the Pope concludes his trip to the United States with a visit to a prison, the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility and a Mass to conclude the World Meeting of Families.
He flies back to Rome on Sunday evening 8pm (EST).
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