October 25, 2013. (Romereports.com) Pope Francis proposed approaching “with respect and courage the families facing difficult situations,” as well as “marriages in crisis or those who are separated.” In the last gathering of the Pontifical Council for the Family, the Pope urged Christians to use their everyday life to show the “beauty of marriage and the Christian family.”   

POPE FRANCIS 
“The family is where one learns to love, the natural center of human life. The family is made of faces, of people that love, that talk, that sacrifice for each other, and protect life, specially the most fragile, the weakest.” 


The Pope also asked parents to “waste time” with their children, so that they can realize that love is always free. 


The president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, Archbishop Vicenzo Paglia, gave Pope Francis this icon where the Holy Family appears along with with two old men. 


“This icon represents the relationship between generations.” 


Pope Francis was delighted with the icon's message. So much so that he reminded attendees that a “society that abandons its children or marginalizes its elderly members not only carries out an act of injustice, but also sanctions the failure of that society.” 


Married couples are the Pope's main advisers when it comes to family issues. That's why the members of the Pontifical Council for Family are largely marriages, a fact that distinguishes it from other Vatican departments.