Church should support ‘fragile’ families on the margins

The Church must apply ‘mercy’ to families, particularly those that find themselves in difficulty, including second unions, a leading theologian has said.

Speaking ahead of a major gathering in Limerick next week that will be attended by the cardinal chosen by Pope Francis to present Amoris Laetitia – the papal letter on the ‘family’ – Prof. Eamonn Conway said Pope Francis is “challenging us all to say how can we be more supportive of families, particularly those that are vulnerable and are fragile”.

Honour

Fr Conway said it was a “great honour” to have Cardinal Christoph Schönborn at the conference and that “he knows at a personal level, in a sense, the challenges that families can face and the challenges young people can face growing up in a family that is not necessarily the ideal circumstance”.

‘Let’s Talk Family: Let’s Be Family’ will be held at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick on July 13.