By Sarah Mac Donald - 30 December, 2013
In a Pastoral Letter for the Feast of the Holy Family, Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham has urged the faithful to be “slow to judge and quick to embrace those who are afraid to cross the threshold of the Church because they fear they are not perfect.”
The Archbishop also emphasised the importance of welcome.
“The family of the parish must always offer a place of welcome for those who no longer find themselves in stable or conventional family situations,” he stated in his pastoral letter.
He also highlighted the preparations for next year’s Synod of Bishops on the pastoral challenges of the family and made reference to the fact that the faithful in their responses had “highlighted some of the difficulties faced by families today.”
He also called for “understanding and compassion” for those who have experienced a “break-down of family life or who may have become estranged from their closest relatives.”
Archbishop Longley said Christ’s experience of family life must have enabled him to see that it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. (Luke 5:31)
Courtesy: Independent Catholic News http://www.indcatholicnews.com/
