Some people are afraid to get married because they fear that fidelity will make them feel trapped, but Pope Francis is saying that contrary to popular belief, fidelity in marriage actually gives couples personal freedom.
"Freedom and fidelity are not opposed to each other," the Pope said on Wednesday while delivering his latest catechesis on the family in St. Peter's Square, according to the Catholic News Agency. "Without freedom there is no friendship; without freedom, there is no love; without freedom, there is no marriage," the pope said.
Pope Francis believes that there is great "honour" in being faithful to one's spouse.
He expressed sadness at how popular culture makes it seem okay to engage in an adulterous relationship. He shuns the modern belief that it is "right to seek one's own satisfaction at all costs and in any relationship, which is exulted as a non-negotiable principle of freedom."
For Pope Francis, there is much to be said about remaining faithful in marriage. "Fidelity to promises is a true masterpiece of humanity. No loving relationship – no friendship, no form of love, no happiness in the common good," he said.
It is also important for couples to love and educate their children and care for the "weakest members of the family," he said. It is equally vital for them to teach the value of honour and fidelity, since these two things "cannot be brought or sold."
"The marital promise broadens to share the joys and sufferings with all fathers, mothers, and children, with generous openness toward human coexistence and the common good," he said.
"No other school can teach the school of love if the family cannot. No law can impose the beauty and heritage of this treasure of human dignity, if the personal connection between love and generation is not written on our flesh," Pope Francis added. "This principle of fidelity to the promise of love and generations is written in God's creation as a perennial blessing, which is entrusted to the world."
