A “key dimension of the family vocation” is “to be guardians of the sacredness of human life from the first moment of conception to natural death,” Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life, preached at the 10th World Meeting of Families on June 23. “The life of each child must be defended and protected precisely because God has great plans for that child’s goodness and holiness right from the very beginning.”

The World Meeting began the previous evening with a speech by Pope Francis (CWN coverage). Speakers on June 23 included Greg and Lisa Popcak of the Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life, and Christopher Bellitto, professor of history at Kean University (IN).