Laura Ieraci, Catholic News Service | September 27, 2015
PHILADELPHIA (CNS) — Pope Francis threw away a prepared text and, to the delight of tens of thousands of people on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, spoke from the heart about the challenges and love that come with being part of a family.
After listening to testimony from six families from various continents Sept. 26, he thanked them for sharing their stories.
“A witness given in order to serve is thoroughly good, it makes us good persons, because God is goodness,” he began, continuing to increase in speed and emphasis to the delight of the crowd. He smiled, gestured with his hands and the crowd cheered as he said it was “worth being a family.”
God sent his son into a family, he said, “and he could do this because it was a family that had a truly open heart,” he saidÂ