Vatican
City, 4 February 2013
(VIS) – This morning in the Press Office of the Holy See,
Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for
the Family presented the details of the conference "From Milan
to Philadelphia: Perspectives of the Pontifical Council for the
Family", which analysed the results of the 7th World Meeting of
Families that took place in Milan in May of last year. Also
participating in the press conference were married couple Francesca
Dossi and Alfonso Colzani, directors of the Archdiocese of Milan's
Service for Families.
The
archbishop noted that that event "showed the vital force that
families represent in the Church and in society itself. … Of
course, there are many problems related to marriage and the family,
but we must not forget … that the family continues to be the
fundamental 'resource' of our society. … The statistics are
unanimous in pointing out that the family is the first place of
safety, refuge, and support for life and remains at the top of the
vast majority of young person's wishes. In Italy, for example, around
80% of young people say that they prefer marriage (whether it be
civil or religious) and only 20% would choose co-habitation. … In
France, surveys indicate that 77% want to build their family life,
staying with the same person throughout their lives. … On the other
hand, the need for family is inscribed on the human heart, since God
tells us 'It is not good for the man to be alone'."
"This
profound truth, which marks human life so radically, seems to take a
beating from counter culture. … There is an escalation in the race
to individualism that is breaking up the family as well as other
forms of society. That is why the breakdown of the family is the
first problem of contemporary society … It is true that much of
contemporary Western History has been conceived as a liberation from
every bond: from ties to others and thus the family, from any
responsibility toward the other. It is also true that bonds have,
sometimes, oppressed individuality. But today, the vertigo of
solitude with its cult of 'me', free from any attachment … and the
disorientation caused by globalization further accentuate our
becoming locked within ourselves and the temptation of
self-absorption."
"The
Church," he continued, "is concerned … with the current
crisis in marriage and the family, because she is aware that both are
a Gospel, a good news for men and women today who are often alone,
lacking love, parenting, and support. … The Church, an 'expert in
humanity' knows well … the high price of the fragility of the
family, which is paid mainly by the children (born and unborn), by
the elderly, and by the ill. … At times in various historical
periods there have been transformations, even profound ones, in the
institution of the family. But it has never abandoned its 'genome',
its deep dimension, that is, its being as an institution formed by a
man, a woman, and children. That is why a careful cultural
reflection and an even more vigorous defence of the family is urgent,
so that it might be placed―and
quickly―at the centre of politics, the economy, and culture, in the
different countries as well as in the different international
organizations, even involving believers of other religious traditions
and all persons of good will."
"The
Pontifical Council for the Family feels the urgency to help from
within as well as from outside the confines of the Church in order to
rediscovery the value of the Family. ...There is great work to be
done on the cultural level: working to restore value to a culture of
the family so that it might x once more become attractive to and
relevant for life itself and for society. … Taking care of a family
does not mean restricting oneself to a segment of life or of society.
Today it means widening horizons beyond oneself and deciding to
participate in the building of a society that is familial, even of
embracing the 'family' of peoples and nations."
The
prelate concluded by pointing out the initiatives that the pontifical
council will launch throughout this year up to the next World Meeting
of Families in Philadelphia, including the presentation of the
Charter of Rights of the Family―which that dicastery has developed
over thirty years―at the sites of the United Nations in New York
and Geneva, and the European Parliament. In April, a series of
seminars entitled "Dialogues for the Family" will begin, in
which experts in different fields will address issues concerning the
main challenges related to marriage and the family. In Rome, at the
end of June, an international congress of Catholic lawyers will take
place, focusing on the rights of the family. Finally, in October, the
plenary assembly of the pontifical council will look at the Charter
of the Rights of the Family. On the 26th
and 27th
of that month, for the Year of Faith, there will be a pilgrimage of
families to the tomb of St. Peter.