February 1, 2016, 12:40p.m. – CEBU CITY – THE REDEFINITION and destruction of the family is also the Church’s destruction, Papal Legate Cardinal Charles Maung Bo said during the concluding Mass of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) Sunday.
In his homily, Cardinal Bo said that while terrorism and poverty are major concerns, the faithful are called to protect the institution of family which is the backbone of the Catholic Church.
“The greatest danger to humanity today is the destruction of the family. Understanding of the family is contested and redefinition of parents have gained strong appeal in rich countries,” Cardinal Bo said at the IEC Statio Orbis Mass in Cebu City’s South Road Properties reclamation area.
Calling the Philippines as “the favorite daughter of Church in the Asia,” Cardinal Bo urged the estimated one million attendees to go and “populate” countries where Christianity is becoming a minority. “Go and multiply your missionaries. Go back in hope as a ‘bread’ to be broken with the world,” Bo said. “Go to Europe and America, they have more cats and dogs than children.”
Cebu Archbishop and 51st IEC President Jose Palma expressed his gratitude to the pilgrims before the concluding rite of the so-called Mass of the World.
“I’m grateful for the manifold blessings our good Lord has given to us. Our hearts are filled with thanksgiving for the past eight days of Congress proper. Indeed they have become days of grace, goodness and mercy,” Palma said.
In a video message, Pope Francis said Budapest in Hungary would be the venue of the 52nd IEC. “I ask all of you to join me in praying for its spiritual fruitfulness and for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all engaged in its preparation,” Pope Francis said.
Budapest Archbishop Peter Cardinal Erdo meanwhile invited the 51st IEC pilgrims to Hungary, a country of more than six million Catholics.
“It (51st IEC) has strengthened our faith; it has strengthened the fraternal communion and solidarity. It is my greatest pleasure to invite you all to Budapest to take part at the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress in 2020,” Erdo said. John Gabriel M. Agcaoili, Krystel Nicole A. Sevilla and Lea Mat P. Vicencio
