The Jubilee and Synodal Meeting for Hopeful Discernment on the Future of Life and Family concluded last Friday the 19th with a private audience with the Holy Father Leo XIV.

From September 17 to 19, 2025, the headquarters of the Pontifical John Paul II Theological Institute in Rome became a space for dialogue between representatives of training centers in Social Doctrine of the Church of Latin America and the Caribbean, along with guests from the five continents.

The Church renews its commitment to life and family

The event focused on the need to "listen, discern and initiate processes of cultural and structural transformation" that offer answers to the challenges faced by families, especially in the peripheries. In a world marked by educational, social and cultural crises, participants – who included representatives from universities, community centers and ecclesial organizations – met to listen to the experiences of those who live this reality and understand their relationship with the Church.

The organizers of the meeting emphasized that what is at stake is the dignity of life and family. In that sense, they stressed the urgency of "scrutinizing the signs of the times" to initiate new processes of justice, relying on the synodal dynamics of the Church and paying special attention to young people.

During the meeting, the family was analyzed as a learning institution that requires significant arguments and proposals for today's life. One of the main conclusions was the need to propose specific training instances to strengthen the knowledge and capacity for action of local leaders, helping them understand the multiplicity of factors that stress family life.

Pope Leo XIV: jubilee, hope and family

In his message, at the closing of the meeting, Pope Leo XVI stated: “we are aware that today there are authentic threats to the dignity of the family, such as, for example, problems related to poverty, lack of work and access to health systems, abuses of the most vulnerable, migrations, wars.”

The Pope also called on public institutions and the Church: “Seek how to promote dialogue and strengthen the elements in society that favor family life and the education of its members.”

In that sense, one of the conclusions of this meeting of training centers in the Social Doctrine of the Church was to propose specific training instances so that representatives of the local Churches can strengthen their knowledge to act, understanding the multiplicity of factors that stress life and the family.

This event, convened by the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Social Thought of the Church (REDLAPSI / CELAM), was organized jointly by the Pontifical John Paul II Theological Institute (PITJP II), the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAV), the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (PCAL) and the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM). It also had the support of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, Cáritas Latin America and the Caribbean and the Latin American Confederation of Religious (CLAR).

Photo: Communication Pontifical John Paul II Theological Institute