My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Several parishioners and priests of our diocese and I made the pilgrimage to Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families and the visit of Pope Francis to the United States. In addition, I was blessed to concelebrate the Mass of Canonization of St. Junípero Serra in Washington, D.C. The Holy Father had a number of messages that he addressed during his stops in Washington, New York and Philadelphia.

The main purpose of the Holy Father's visit to our country was stated by the Holy Father himself at the prayer service with Bishops of the United States at the Cathedral of St. Matthew in Washington, D.C., where he said, "I appreciate the unfailing commitment of the Church in America to the cause of life and that of the family, which is the primary reason for my present visit." The Holy Father underscored this message in his address to Congress, saying, "Let us remember the Golden Rule: 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you' (Mt 7:12). This Rule points us in a clear direction... . The yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick which time will use for us. The Golden Rule also reminds us of our responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its development." This message is very timely as we observe Respect Life Month during this month of October.

Sometimes the pope made his point not just with words, but with gestures. When the Holy Father mentioned religious freedom in his remarks at the White House, he turned and looked directly at President Barack Obama. After leaving the White House, Pope Francis made an unscheduled stop to visit the Little Sisters of the Poor, who are appealing to the U.S. Court to overturn President Obama's mandate requiring insurance coverage for contraceptive and abortion-inducing drugs in violation of the moral objections of the nuns and other religious groups.

Pope Francis also made an important distinction between freedom of worship and freedom of religion when he spoke about religious liberty at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Speaking from the podium used by President Abraham Lincoln in giving his Gettysburg Address, the Holy Father said, "Religious freedom certainly means the right to worship God, individually and in community, as our consciences dictate. But religious liberty, by its nature, transcends places of worship and the private sphere of individuals and families." Unlike some people who want to confine religious expression within the walls of our places of worship and limit religious belief to the realm of private opinion, Pope Francis was emphasizing that religious liberty also involves the freedom to put our religious beliefs into practice, as we do with our Catholic Charities, schools and hospitals.

In his meeting with the bishops from various countries taking part in the World Meeting of Families, Pope Francis noted, "Until recently, we lived in a social context where the similarities between the civil institution of marriage and the Christian sacrament were considerable and shared. The two were interrelated and mutually supportive. This is no longer the case." The pope explained that "our culture has become more and more competitive. Business is no longer conducted on the basis of trust; others can no longer be trusted. There are no longer close personal relationships. Today's culture seems to encourage people not to bond with anything or anyone, not to trust. The most important thing nowadays seems to be: follow the latest trend or activity. This is even true of religion. Today consumption seems to determine what is important. Consuming relationships, consuming friendships, consuming religions, consuming, consuming... . The Gospel is not a product to be consumed; it is not a part of this culture of consumption."

The culmination of the papal visit, of course, was the closing Mass of the World Meeting of Families celebrated by the Holy Father with a huge crowd of people gathered on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. Echoing the words of Moses wishing that "all the people of the Lord were prophets" (Nm. 11:29), Pope Francis proclaimed, "Would that we could all be prophets!" The Holy Father explained that the word of the Lord "invites all those who want to share the prophecy of the covenant of man and woman, which generates life and reveals God!" In our culture today, prophetic witness is indeed needed to uphold the truth that true marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman who wish to share their love in the context of a family. As Pope Francis said in closing, "May God grant that all of us may be prophets of the joy of the Gospel, the Gospel of the family and family love, as disciples of the Lord."

May God give us this grace. Amen.