Pope Francis - God Loves Your Children

ARTIST: Dan Paulos

ARTWORK NARRATIVE:

Pope Francis calls on parents around the world to not condemn children if they are gay.

Francis made the comments while speaking about the biblical figure Joseph during his weekly general audience. He addressed parents facing difficult situations in the lives of their children, such as kids who are sick, imprisoned or killed in car accidents.

He also addressed parents "who see that their children have different sexual orientations, how they manage that and accompany their children and not hide behind a condemning attitude.

Never condemn a child, he said.

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Pope Francis told a group of parents of L.G.B.T. children that "God loves your children as they are" and "the church loves your children as they are because they are children of God." He did so in a brief encounter with some 40 Italian parents (both mothers and fathers) of L.G.B.T. children after the public audience in the Renaissance courtyard of San Damaso in the Vatican.

The parents are members of an Italian association, Tenda di Gionata ("Jonathan's Tent"), which welcomes and provides information and formation to L.G.B.T. Christians, their families and pastoral workers. The association was founded in 2018 by people inspired by a Catholic priest, the late Rev. David Esposito from the Diocese of Fermo in the Marches region of Italy.

Born: March 9. 1568 at the castle of Castiglione delle Stivieri in Montau, Lombardy, Italy

Died:June 20-21, 1591 at Rome of plague, fever, and desire to see God; relics entombed under the altar of St. Ignatius Church, Rome

Beatified:1621 (cult approved)

Canonized:1726 by Pope Benedict XIII

Readings:

There is no more evident sign that anyone is a saint and of the number of the elect, than to see him leading a good life and at the same time a prey to desolation, suffering, and trials.
"Saint Aloysius Gonzaga

O Holy Mary! My Mother; into thy blessed trust and special custody, and into the bosom of thy mercy, I this day, and every day, and in the hour of my death, commend my soul and body. To thee I commit all my anxieties and sorrows, my life and the end of my life, that by thy most holy intercession, and by thy merits, all my actions may be directed and governed by thy will and that of thy Son.
"Saint Aloysius Gonzaga

May the comfort and grace of the Holy Spirit be yours for ever, most honored lady. Your letter found me lingering still in this region of the dead, but now I must rouse myself to make my way on to heaven at last, and to praise God for ever in the land of the living; indeed I had hoped that before this time my journey there would have been over. If charity, as St. Paul says, means "to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who are glad," then, dearest mother, you shall rejoice exceedingly that God in his grace and his love for you is showing me the path to true happiness, and assuring me that I shall never lose him.

Take care above all things, most honored lady, not to insult God's boundless loving kindness; you would certainly do this if you mourned as dead one living face to face with God, one whose prayers can bring you in your troubles more powerful aid than they ever could on earth. And our parting will not be for long; we shall see each other again in heaven; we shall be united with our Savior; there we shall praise him with heart and soul, sing of his mercies for ever, and enjoy eternal happiness.

"Excerpts from a letter to his mother by Saint Aloysius Gonzaga

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