Vatican City, 8 October 2014 (VIS) –
The general debate continued during the fourth general Congregation,
following the order of the Instrumentum Laboris. The theme was “The
Pastoral Program for the Family: Various Proposals Underway” (Part
II, Chapter 1).
Firstly, the link between the crisis of
faith and the crisis of the family was underlined: it was said that
the first generates the second. This is because faith is seen mostly
as a set of doctrinal mores, whereas it is primarily a free act by
which one entrusts oneself to God. This gave rise, among other
things, to the suggestion of devising a “Vademecum” dedicated to
the catechesis of the family, so as to strengthen its evangelising
mission. Furthermore, the weakness of the faith of many baptised
persons was underlined; this often leads to the marriage of couples
who do are not appropriately aware of what they are undertaking.
Secondly, a great challenge facing
families today was mentioned: that of the “dictatorship of unitary
thought” that aims to introduce into society those countervalues
that distort the vision of marriage as a union between a man and a
woman. The crisis of values, atheist secularism, hedonism, and the
ambition of power destroy families today, distorting it, weakening
people and consequently rendering society fragile. It is therefore
important to recover in the faithful the awareness of belonging to
the Church, as the Church grows by attraction and the families of the
Church attract other families.
For its part, the Church, an expert in
humanity, must underline the beauty and the need everyone has for the
family, as it is indispensable. It is necessary to reawaken in
humanity the sense of belonging to the family unit. In addition, as a
reflection of God’s love, which is never an isolated love, the
family opens one to relationships and bonds with others, thus
becoming the foundation for society.
Mention was also made of the link
between priests and families: they accompany families in all the most
important stages of their lives, sharing in their joys and
difficulties; families, in turn, help priests to experience celibacy
as a full and balanced emotional life, rather than as a sacrifice. In
addition, the family was defined as the “cradle of vocations” as
it is precisely within the domestic walls, in common prayer, that the
call to the priesthood is frequently heard.
A further link that was underlined is
that between baptism and marriage: without a serious and in-depth
Christian initiation, the meaning of the sacrament of marriage is
diminished. Therefore, it is to be emphasised that Christian marriage
cannot be seen solely as a cultural tradition or a social need, but
rather must be understood as a vocational decision, undertaken with
suitable preparation that cannot be improvised in a few meetings, but
must be carried out over a period of time.
Attention then turned to how work
affects the dynamics of the family: these are two dimensions that
must be reconciled, through increasingly flexible working hours, new
contractual models, and attention to geographical distances between
home and work. Furthermore, technology can lead to work being brought
home, making family dialogue difficult.
Numerous interventions, especially in
relation to Africa, drew attention to the many challenges the family
must face in this continent: polygamy, levirate marriage, sects, war,
poverty, the painful crisis of migration, international pressure for
birth control, and so on. These are problems that undermine family
stability, placing it in crisis. In the face of such challenges, it
is necessary to respond with in-depth evangelisation, able to promote
the values of peace, justice and love, an adequate promotion of the
role of women in society, thorough education of children and the
protection of rights for all victims of violence.
In the hour dedicated to open
discussion – from 6 to 7 p.m. – attention returned to the need
for a new language in the proclamation of the Gospel, with particular
reference to the new media technologies. With regard to the
indissolubility of marriage, it was highlighted that today it would
appear that the law is opposed to the good of the person. In reality,
the truth of the conjugal bond and its stability is inscribed within
the person, and therefore it is not a question of setting the law and
the person in opposition to each other, but rather of understanding
how to help the person not to betray his or her own truth.
Further reflection was proposed in
relation to families who have not received the gift of children
despite wishing for them, and those in regions affected by the Ebola
virus.
Finally, the image of the Church as
light was recalled, in the hope that this may be not only the light
of a beacon, that remains constant and illuminates from afar, but
also a torch, or rather a “soft light” that accompanies humanity
on its path, step by step.
The Pontifical Council for the Family
donated to the members of the Synod a copy of the extensive
Enchiridion on the family.
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