Accompanying weakness: hope and confidence for families in trials

«Today, families are severely tried by weakness. We are all fragile – and separation, divorce, and living together are now a reality that many families in the world deal with. The Church has the task of going out to meet those who want to remain near God to help them to transform their failures and sufferings into opportunities to journey toward the fullness of the Gospel». With these words the Holy Father introduces us to the theme of the accompaniment of families. This is the ninth of the 10 videos that see Pope Francis as a protagonist together with families from different parts of the world.

This video refers to the eighth chapter of the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia: “Accompanying, discerning and integrating weakness”. Together with the words of the Holy Father is the testimony of the Likesya family, from Mbandaka, a town 500 Km north from Kinshasa, RDCongo: «crises in marriage do not last forever and do not necessarily lead to breaking up. That is why it is imperative to integrate them so that they can rediscover how to dialogue, forgive each other and the joy of love.»

Through a series of 10 videos, the Holy Father, with the help of several families, invites us to journey together to rediscover the value and beauty of the family. Each video is accompanied by a guide that can be used flexibly either by families or by various ecclesial realities (dioceses, parishes, communities).

This pastoral resource is an initiative of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life in collaboration with the Dicastery for Communication, as part of the initiatives of the «Amoris Laetitia Family» Year.