The Church should be a place of mercy that looks “attentively and compassionately” at the realities faced by families today, Gozo Bishop Mario Grech said yesterday.

“Mercy does not make the Church vulnerable but credible... true mercy is what families are thirsting to encounter in our Lord Jesus Christ,” he said during a conference on the family, themed ‘Between two synods: journeying together’, held at Verdala Palace.

The conference was organised by the University of Malta’s Faculty of Theology in collaboration with the local branch of the European Society of Catholic Theologians.

It brought theologians, students and members of the Church together to reflect on the conclusions of last October’s extraordinary bishops’ synod called by Pope Francis to discuss pastoral challenges related to family life.

We need to move ahead with courage and creativity

The outcome of yesterday’s conference will be used during the second synod due to be held in Rome in October, when the Pope is expected to declare a final position.

In his opening address Mgr Grech, the president of the Maltese Episcopal Conference who attended October’s synod, said the Church should follow the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. “Some fear that the Church’s foundations on marriage and family will be shaken... What we ought to fear is our resistance to the Holy Spirit that guides the Church... We need to move ahead with courage and creativity,” he said.

President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca said that today’s family could not be easily defined. Research showed that 25 per cent of mothers were single parents with most aged between 20 and 30, and that 873 couples were divorced.

While she agreed that the Church should maintain its links with its apostolic tradition, such as values, it could not remain indifferent to the way people lived their lives.

In the past, she said, children born out of wedlock were not baptised. This had changed today. How did the Church view same-sex couples who wanted to continue living their faith, she asked. How did it view adoption by same-sex couples? What about divorced people who wanted to rebuild their life in the Church?

“I believe that, both the government and Church need to respond through more action... society must understand and not condemn. This does not mean changing Christ and the Church but it does mean we all need to open our mind and heart to the reality of people’s suffering. I have been taught that our Christ was open to everyone and turned no one away,” Ms Coleiro Preca said.

Apostolic Administrator Charles Scicluna, who closed the day-long conference, said that when the Church spoke about family it was never an easy subject. One of the main challenges faced by the Church, in this context, was the way it was coming across to the public and whether it made sense in their eyes, he said.