Pope Francis on Sunday celebrated the Closing Mass for the Extraordinary Synod on the Family.

During the Mass in Saint Peter’s Square, the Holy Father beatified his predecessor, Pope Paul VI, whom he described as a “great Pope,” a “courageous Christian” and a “tireless apostle.”

In his homily, Pope Francis focused on Christ’s words from the Gospel: Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” This, he said, “is a striking phrase which the Lord has bequeathed to all those who experience qualms of conscience, particularly when their comfort, their wealth, their prestige, their power and their reputation are in question.”

In particular, to “render to God the things that are God’s” calls for “acknowledging that God alone is the Lord of mankind, that there is no other.  This is the perennial newness to be discovered each day, and it requires mastering the fear which we often feel at God’s surprises.” It means “being docile to His will, devoting our lives to Him and working for His Kingdom of mercy, love, and peace.”

This, the Pope said, is where our “true strength” and hope are found…

This morning a press conference was held in the Holy See Press Office to present the Message of the Third Extraordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, dedicated to the “Pastoral challenges to the family in the context of evangelisation” (5-19 October). The speakers were Cardinals Raymundo Damasceno Assis, archbishop of Aparecida, Brazil, delegate president; Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture and president of the Commission for the Message and Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Bombay, India…

• Pope Francis will officially declare Pope Paul VI Blessed on Sunday, Oct. 19, during the closing ‎Mass of the 3rd Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family.  Pope Paul VI was cleared for ‎beatification when Pope Francis on May 9 recognized a miracle attributed to the intercession of his ‎predecessor, who headed the worldwide Catholic Church from 1963 to 1978…

Participants at the Synod on the Family continued their work in small language groups on Wednesday, offering amendments or additions to their working document made public earlier this week. At the daily briefing to report on this “work in progress”, the head of the Holy See press office Fr Federico Lombardi was joined by the head of the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, by Spanish Cardinal Lluis Martinez Sistach and by Italian Archbishop Rino Fisichella, head of the Pontifical Council for New Evangelisation…