QUITO, Ecuador (AP) 鈥� The world is wounded, Catholic leaders said Thursday in Ecuador. But an emphasis on supporting the family could be a path towards healing.
Catholic leaders from more than 50 countries have discussed this and other topics in Quito, the Ecuadoran capital, during this year's International Eucharistic Congress, which will run through Sept. 15.
Thursday's agenda was focused on family and fraternity. Both topics where addressed by Pope Francis in a recorded message that was played during the opening ceremony last Sunday. 鈥淚t's an essential condition for a new, fairer world,鈥� said Francis, of his tour through four countries.
鈥淭oday it is not possible to save ourselves on our own happy island and isolate,鈥� said Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, vicar general for the Vatican. 鈥淲e need to walk together.鈥�
Rosal铆a Arteaga, former Ecuadoran vice president who attended the congress, said to The Associated Press that family is a 鈥渃orner stone鈥� for fraternity, 鈥渘ot from a patriarchal perspective,鈥� but because good relations between parents and children help in preserving society's values.
In Ecuador 鈥� where 80% of its 17 million people identify as Catholic 鈥� same-sex marriage was legalized in 2019. Abortion , though activists consider it insufficient and discriminatory, and keep pushing to widen sexual and reproductive rights.
During his remarks Thursday, Monsignor Graziano Borgonovo, appointed by the pope as under-secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization, said that families, as social institutions, are currently in 鈥渃risis鈥� due to same-sex marriages and 鈥渙ther forms of coexistence."
鈥淭he family is the original nucleus,鈥� Borgonovo said.
A Jesuit priest, Iv谩n Lucero, said that the Catholic Church could look for new ways to support same-sex marriages and non-traditional families.
鈥淭he pope has a greater understanding and closeness to these couples, whose number is growing,鈥� Lucero said. 鈥淏ut at the same time, we must ensure that the traditional family is not lost or questioned.鈥�
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Gabriela Molina, The Associated Press
