Vatican City, April 8 (AKI) Pope Francis on Friday told Catholic families to turn to God in time of trouble - the same day he published new guidelines on family life.
"The word of God is a source of comfort for every family that experiences difficulty or suffering," Francis tweeted from his nine-language @Pontifex acccount, which has over 22 million followers.
Earlier on Friday, his landmark document 'On Love in the Family' urged a more compassionate approach, saying priests should exercise careful discernment over "wounded families" and to be merciful rather than judgemental.
The document was eagerly awaited by the world's 1.3bn Catholics. It concludes a three-year consultation that saw bishops twice gather in Rome to debate hot issues like the Church's approaches to divorcees, gay people, abortion, contraception and sex education.
It does not change Catholic doctrine but opens the way for bishops in each country to interpret doctrine to suit their own culture on issues such as communion for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.
