During a press conference with Archbishop Charles Chaput and Archbishop Vincenzio Paglio, president of the Pontifical Council for Family, both men expressed their joy and excitement about the family while the press seemed intent on grilling them about same-sex marriage.

After welcoming the press corps to the “city of brotherly love and “sisterly affection”, Archbishop Chaput said the Archdiocese has been preparing for this moment for three years.

“Its an incredibly exciting time. Over 100 countries are represented here and 17,500 have registered – making this the largest World Meeting of Families in history.

Archbishop Paglia spoke excitedly about the joy and passion of the people who have been working so hard to make the meeting possible.

“Philadelphia will be the world capital of families during these days,” Archbishop Paglia said. “It is the city of family love.”

During questions from the press, it wasn’t surprising that a reporter would bring up the issue of the lesbian teacher, Margie Winters, who was recently fired from her job at a private school in Philadelphia. The reporter informed Archbishop Chaput that Winters was meeting with President Barack Obama today with the hopes of being invited to the meeting with Pope Francis tomorrow. He asked what Chaput thought about this.

“I have no comment on that,” Chaput said. “The president can invite anyone he wants to the meeting with the Pope. I can’t comment on that.”

Another reporter asked if Archbishop Paglia’s comments on the beauty and mission of the family extended to same-sex couples.

After explaining God’s creation of man and woman, the Archbishop said “We have to underline the dignity of each person. Each person is a saint because they are loved God. But family is man and woman . .  . and we have to obey Scripture and God.”

The topic of gay marriage seems to be very important to secular media in spite of the many opportunities surrounding them to come to a deeper understanding of why God created family as He did!