COUNCIL DOCUMENT ON "FAMILY, MARRIAGE, 'DE FACTO' UNIONS"

VATICAN CITY, NOV 21, 2000 (VIS) - The Pontifical Council for the Family today published in English, French, Spanish and Italian a document entitled "Family, Marriage and 'de facto' Unions." In addition it released a communique signed by Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo and Bishop Francisco Gil Hellin, respectively president and secretary of the council, in which they present and describe the 79-page document.

Following are excerpts from that communique:

"In recent years we have witnessed repeated attempts to confer legal validity on 'de facto' unions: These unions ignore or even refuse the very institution of marriage or at least defer it to an uncertain future. In doing so, these unions are not included in and protected by marriage law and, therefore, a pretended comparison involves a juridical hollowing out of the marriage institution. In fact, a number of times the same validity for unions of coexistence between two persons of the same sex has been requested, even with the possibility of being able to adopt children. One and the other ask to receive the same rights as the family founded on marriage. Pope John Paul II, ... in his historical speech to politicians and parliamentarians on November 4, 2000, repeated what he has said in the past: 'Every law which damages the family and attacks its unity and indissolubility or gives legal validity to unions among persons, even of the same sex, which asks to be a surrogate with the same rights as the family founded on marriage between a man and a woman 'is not a law in conformity with the divine plan'.'

"Aware of the serious repercussions involved in this situation of human and Christian incoherence for society and the Church, the Pontifical Council for the Family felt it was opportune to examine deeply and attentively such a delicate question. ... The fruit of this initiative, after laborious studies, is the document "Family, Marriage and 'de facto' Unions" which we now present.

"In this document, after examining the social aspect of 'de facto' unions, their constitutive elements and the motives behind them, we then face the problem of their recognition and their juridical equalization in the first place with the family founded on marriage. Then, we take into consideration the family as a social good, the objective values to encourage and the duties that society should justly protect and promote, caring for its root, which is marriage. Following this we study more deeply several aspects which this claim presents in relation to Christian marriage. In addition, several general criteria of pastoral discernment, necessary for furnishing an orientation to Christian communities, are laid out."

"The Pope, on the occasion of the Jubilee of Families on October 14, affirmed that what is necessary is a commitment to defend 'the value of the family and respect for human life, from the very moment of conception. It is a question of values which belong to the basic 'grammar' of dialogue and human coexistence among peoples. I truly hope that governments and national parliaments as well as international organizations, and the United Nations in particular, will not lose sight of this truth'."

"Pastors, who very often in their ministry find themselves welcoming and guiding persons who are living such problems, will surely receive in this document opportune orientations for their pastoral activity."

"We hope that these pages will also be a useful instrument for politicians and legislators. As the Holy Father has affirmed: 'No human society can run the risk of permissiveness on the basic questions concerning the essence of marriage and the family! A similar moral permissiveness can only bring harm to the authentic exigencies of peace and communion among men. ... It is therefore urgent ... to rediscover the existence of essential and native human and moral values, ... values, therefore, which no individual, no majority and no State can ever create, modify or destroy, but can only recognize, respect and promote'."

"In the face of any law which attempts to give legal validity to unions among persons, even of the same sex, which asks to be a surrogate with the same rights as the family founded on marriage between a man and a woman, 'Christian legislators may neither contribute to the formulation of such a law nor approve it in parliamentary assembly, although, where such a law already exists, it is licit for them to propose amendments which would diminish its adverse effects'. This is a question of unjust laws which are not in conformity with the divine plan."

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, NOV 21, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick of Newark, U.S.A., as archbishop of Washington (area 5,447, population 2,305,090, Catholics 510,000, priests 1,083, permanent deacons 225, religious 1,781), U.S.A. He succeeds Cardinal James A. Hickey, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Bishop Juan Barros Madrid, auxiliary of Valparaiso, Chile, as bishop of Iquique (area 41,799, population 188,450, Catholics 150,760, priests 31, permanent deacons 7, religious 54), Chile.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, NOV 21, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience Islam Abduganievic Karimov, president of the Republic of Uzbekistan, accompanied by his wife and an entourage.

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CONCLUSIONS OF THE CONGRESS ON CHILDREN AND THE FAMILY

VATICAN CITY, NOV 21, 2000 (VIS) - Made public today was a document of the Pontifical Council for the Family regarding the theological-pastoral congress that took place in Rome from October 11 to 14. The theme of the gathering was: "Children, Springtime of the Family and of Society" and it marked the occasion of the third world meeting of the Holy Father with families.

The text is divided into four sections: doctrinal and theological contributions, real situations, recommendations and conclusions.

Participants in the congress note that "at both the national and international level, there is a tendency today to weaken matrimony and the family that arises therefrom, rather than reinforcing them. The family, if considered as a precarious union between individuals, becomes ever more fragile."

The document continues: "The family is a privileged place for the transmission of faith as well as being a school of prayer. ... Prayer in the family is a central aspect of vitality that contributes to its stability."

In the section on recommendations, it is emphasized that "the most effective way to protect children and their rights is to protect, in the first place, the family based on matrimony." Furthermore, it recommends avoiding "ambiguity in defining the child and the family. In particular, regarding the legal definition of the child, it is necessary that the rights of the child in the pre-natal period of life be recognized."

"We are troubled by the dramatic devaluation of maternity in our societies. ... The role of mother must be given recognition by reason of the real and effective service it renders to society."

Moreover, the participants in the congress refer to the need to "reinforce the awareness and importance of the paternal role in educating the family. ... This role must, of course, be supported by educational structures but it can never be adequately substituted."

Speaking of the dignity of children, a call is made to "Christian communities and, especially, to parishes, to closely follow the interests of families with handicapped children."

At the end of the document, it is affirmed that "modern-day educators are unanimous in underlining that the integral education of children is inseparable from the continual education of parents. ... Furthermore, though economic difficulties most certainly affect the possibilities for successful formation, they cannot be a reason for impeding poor families from having children and from benefiting from the fine educational contributions transmitted by Christian values."

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