The Crisis of the Family by Pope John Paul II |
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The crisis of the family
becomes, in turn, a cause of the crisis in society. Many pathological phenomena - from
loneliness to violence and drugs - are also due to the fact that families have lost their
identity and purpose. Wherever the family falls apart, society loses its connective tissue
with disastrous consequences that affect individuals, especially the weakest: from
children to adolescents, to the handicapped, the sick and the elderly, etc. It is therefore necessary to encourage a reflection that will help not only believers, but all people of good will to rediscover the value of marriage and the family. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church we read: "The family is the original cell of social life. It is the natural society in which husband and wife are called to give themselves in love and in the gift of life. Authority, stability and a life of relationships within the family constitute the foundations for freedom, security and fraternity within society. A Place of Development: In families, interpersonal relations develop in which each member is entrusted with a specific task, although without rigid patterns. I do not intend to refer here to those social and functional roles, which are expressions of specific historical and cultural contexts. I am thinking, rather, of the importance, in the mutual conjugal relationship and the shared parental commitment, of man and woman as they are called to realize their natural characteristics in the context of a deep, enriching and respectful communion. To this unity of the two, God has entrusted not only the work of procreation and family life, but the creation of history itself. A Place of Blessing: Children, then, must be seen as the greatest expression of the communion between man and woman, or rather of their reciprocal receiving/giving which is fulfilled and transcended in a "third", in the child himself. A child is a blessing from God. He transforms husband and wife into father and mother. Both come out of themselves and express themselves in a person, which, although the fruit of their love, goes beyond them. A Place to be Nurtured: The family is place where life is welcomed and nurtured. The ideal expressed in the priestly prayer of Jesus, in which he asks that his unity with the Father be extended to the disciples (cf. Jn 17: 11) and to those who believe through their word (cf. Jn 17: 20-21), applies to the family in a special way. Christian families, domestic churches, are especially called to achieve this ideal of perfect communion. Therefore, let us rediscover the family in the light of the divine fatherhood. Our contemplation of God the Father prompts an urgent concern, which is particularly in keeping with the challenges of this moment in history. Looking at God the Father means understanding the family as a place where life is welcomed and nurtured. As a workshop of brotherhood where, with the help of Christ's Spirit, a new fraternity and solidarity, a true reflection of the mystery of mutual self-giving and receiving proper to the Most Holy Trinity is created. A Place of Learning: From the experience of renewed Christian families, the Church herself can learn how to foster among all the members of the community a more family-like dimension, by accepting and encouraging a more human and fraternal style of relationship. Condensed from www.vatican.va ŠL'Osservatore Romano - 8 December 1999 |
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Read other articles in the January 2000 edition of The San Francisco