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Church Documents
Apostolic Exhortation of Pope John Paul II
Familiaris Consortio
The Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio (The Christian Family in the Modern World) was released November 22, 1981, following the 1980 Synod on the Family -- only three years after John Paul II became pope. It comprehensively addresses issues most affecting families today, including spiritual, physical and social aspects of life. The Holy Father calls the family "the domestic Church", where religious and moral values are formed. Thus all aspects of education of children is the primary right and responsibility of the family. The family is also "a community of life and love", and its role in the mission of the Church is indispensible. The Exhortation also comments on the role of men and women in the life of the Church and in society.
We regard this document as so fundamentally important to all Catholic families that it is specifically mentioned in the Affirmation for Catholic Women, the founding statement of Women for Faith & Family; and it was the principal inspiration for our Family Sourcebooks. Its companion is the Charter of the Rights of the Family, addressed to all families in the world, whether or not they are Christian.
We strongly recommend that Familiaris Consortio be studied carefully -- individually or in parish or home-schooling groups.
Introduction | Part
One | Part Two | Part
Three | Part Four | Conclusion
On
the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World. To
the Episcopate, to the Clergy and to the Faithful of the whole
Catholic Church The
Church at the Service of the Family Knowing that marriage and the
family constitute one of the most precious of human values, the
Church wishes to speak and offer her help to those who are already
aware of the value of marriage and the family and seek to live
it faithfully, to those who are uncertain and anxious and searching
for the truth, and to those who are unjustly impeded from living
freely their family lives. Supporting the first, illuminating
the second and assisting the others, the Church offers her services
to every person who wonders about the destiny of marriage and
the family.(1) In a particular way the Church
addresses the young, who are beginning their journey toward marriage
and family life, for the purpose of presenting them with new
horizons, helping them to discover the beauty and grandeur of
the vocation to love and the service of life. The
Synod of 1980 in Continuity with Preceding Synods Furthermore, the recent Synod
is logically connected in some way as well with that on the ministerial
priesthood and on justice in the modern world. In fact, as an
educating community, the family must help man to discern his
own vocation and to accept responsibility in the search for greater
justice, educating him from the beginning in interpersonal relationships,
rich in justice and in love. At the close of their assembly,
the Synod Fathers presented me with a long list of proposals
in which they had gathered the fruits of their reflections, which
had matured over intense days of work, and they asked me unanimously
to be a spokesman before humanity of the Church's lively care
for the family and to give suitable indications for renewed pastoral
effort in this fundamental sector of the life of man and of the
Church. As I fulfill that mission with
this Exhortation, thus actuating in a particular matter the apostolic
ministry with which I am entrusted, I wish to thank all the members
of the Synod for the very valuable contribution of teaching and
experience that they made especially through the Propositiones,
the text of which I am entrusting to the Pontifical Council for
the Family with instructions to study it so as to bring out every
aspect of its rich content. The
Precious Value of Marriage and of the Family The Church is deeply convinced
that only by the acceptance of the Gospel are the hopes that
man legitimately places in marriage and in the family capable
of being fulfilled. Willed by God in the very act
of creation,(3) marriage and the family are interiorly ordained
to fulfillment in Christ(4) and have need of His graces in order
to be healed from the wounds of sin(5) and restored to their
"beginning,"(6) that is, to full understanding and
the full realization of God's plan. At a moment of history in which
the family is the object of numerous forces that seek to destroy
it or in some way to deform it, and aware that the well-being
of society and her own good are intimately tied to the good of
the family,(7) the Church perceives in a more urgent and compelling
way her mission of proclaiming to all people the plan of God
for marriage and the family, ensuring their full vitality and
human and Christian development, and thus contributing to the
renewal of society and of the People of God. BRIGHT
SPOTS AND SHADOWS FOR THE FAMILY TODAY The
Need To Understand the Situation This understanding is, therefore,
an inescapable requirement of the work of evangelization. It
is, in fact, to the families of our times that the Church must
bring the unchangeable and ever new Gospel of Jesus Christ, just
as it is the families involved in the present conditions of the
world that are called to accept and to live the plan of God that
pertains to them. Moreover, the call and demands of the Spirit
resound in the very events of history, and so the Church can
also be guided to a more profound understanding of the inexhaustible
mystery of marriage and the family by the circumstances, the
questions and the anxieties and hopes of the young people, married
couples and parents of today.(9) To this ought to be added a further
reflection of particular importance at the present time. Not
infrequently ideas and solutions which are very appealing but
which obscure in varying degrees the truth and the dignity of
the human person, are offered to the men and women of today,
in their sincere and deep search for a response to the important
daily problems that affect their married and family life. These
views are often supported by the powerful and pervasive organization
of the means of social communication, which subtly endanger freedom
and the capacity for objective judgment. Many are already aware of this
danger to the human person and are working for the truth. The
Church, with her evangelical discernment, joins with them, offering
her own service to the truth, to freedom and to the dignity of
every man and every woman. Evangelical
Discernment This discernment is accomplished
through the sense of faith,(10) which is a gift that the Spirit
gives to all the faithful,(11) and is therefore the work of the
whole Church according to the diversity of the various gifts
and charisms that, together with and according to the responsibility
proper to each one, work together for a more profound understanding
and activation of the word of God. The Church, therefore, does
not accomplish this discernment only through the Pastors, who
teach in the name and with the power of Christ but also through
the laity: Christ "made them His witnesses and gave them
understanding of the faith and the grace of speech (cf. Acts
2:17-18; Rv. 19:10), so that the power of the Gospel might shine
forth in their daily social and family life."(12) The laity,
moreover, by reason of their particular vocation have the specific
role of interpreting the history of the world in the light of
Christ, in as much as they are called to illuminate and organize
temporal realities according to the plan of God, Creator and
Redeemer. The "supernatural sense
of faith"(13) however does not consist solely or necessarily
in the consensus of the faithful. Following Christ, the Church
seeks the truth, which is not always the same as the majority
opinion. She listens to conscience and not to power, and in this
way she defends the poor and the downtrodden. The Church values
sociological and statistical research, when it proves helpful
in understanding the historical context in which pastoral action
has to be developed and when it leads to a better understanding
of the truth. Such research alone, however, is not to be considered
in itself an expression of the sense of faith. Because it is the task of the
apostolic ministry to ensure that the Church remains in the truth
of Christ and to lead her ever more deeply into that truth, the
Pastors must promote the sense of the faith in all the faithful,
examine and authoritatively judge the genuineness of its expressions,
and educate the faithful in an ever more mature evangelical discernment.(14) Christian spouses and parents
can and should offer their unique and irreplaceable contribution
to the elaboration of an authentic evangelical discernment in
the various situations and cultures in which men and women live
their marriage and their family life. They are qualified for
this role by their charism or specific gift, the gift of the
sacrament of matrimony.(15) The
Situation of the Family in the World Today On the one hand, in fact, there
is a more lively awareness of personal freedom and greater attention
to the quality of interpersonal relationships in marriage, to
promoting the dignity of women, to responsible procreation, to
the education of children. There is also an awareness of the
need for the development of interfamily relationships, for reciprocal
spiritual and material assistance, the rediscovery of the ecclesial
mission proper to the family and its responsibility for the building
of a more just society. On the other hand, however, signs are
not lacking of a disturbing degradation of some fundamental values:
a mistaken theoretical and practical concept of the independence
of the spouses in relation to each other; serious misconceptions
regarding the relationship of authority between parents and children;
the concrete difficulties that the family itself experiences
in the transmission of values; the growing number of divorces;
the scourge of abortion; the ever more frequent recourse to sterilization;
the appearance of a truly contraceptive mentality. At the root of these negative
phenomena there frequently lies a corruption of the idea and
the experience of freedom, conceived not as a capacity for realizing
the truth of God's plan for marriage and the family, but as an
autonomous power of self-affirmation, often against others, for
one's own selfish well-being. Worthy of our attention also
is the fact that, in the countries of the so-called Third World,
families often lack both the means necessary for survival, such
as food, work, housing and medicine, and the most elementary
freedoms. In the richer countries, on the contrary, excessive
prosperity and the consumer mentality, paradoxically joined to
a certain anguish and uncertainty about the future, deprive married
couples of the generosity and courage needed for raising up new
human life: thus life is often perceived not as a blessing, but
as a danger from which to defend oneself. The historical situation in which
the family lives therefore appears as an interplay of light and
darkness. This shows that history is not
simply a fixed progression toward what is better, but rather
an event of freedom, and even a struggle between freedoms that
are in mutual conflict, that is, according to the well-known
expression of Saint Augustine, a conflict between two loves:
the love of God to the point of disregarding self, and the love
of self to the point of disregarding God.(16) It follows that only an education
for love rooted in faith can lead to the capacity of interpreting
"the signs of the times", which are the historical
expression of this twofold love. The
Influence of Circumstances on the Consciences of the Faithful Among the more troubling signs
of this phenomenon, the Synod Fathers stressed the following,
in particular: the spread of divorce and of recourse to a new
union, even on the part of the faithful; the acceptance of purely
civil marriage in contradiction to the vocation of the baptized
to "be married in the Lord", the celebration of the
marriage sacrament without living faith, but for other motives;
the rejection of the moral norms that guide and promote the human
and Christian exercise of sexuality in marriage. Our
Age Needs Wisdom Science and its technical applications
offer new and immense possibilities in the construction of such
a humanism. Still, as a consequence of political choices that
decide the direction of research and its applications, science
is often used against its original purpose, which is the advancement
of the human person. It becomes necessary, therefore,
on the part of all, to recover an awareness of the primacy of
moral values, which are the values of the human person as such.
The great task that has to be faced today for the renewal of
society is that of recapturing the ultimate meaning of life and
its fundamental values. Only an awareness of the primacy of these
values enables man to use the immense possibilities given him
by science in such a way as to bring about the true advancement
of the human person in his or her whole truth, in his or her
freedom and dignity. Science is called to ally itself with wisdom. The following words of the Second
Vatican Council can therefore be applied to the problems of the
family: "Our era needs such wisdom more than bygone ages
if the discoveries made by man are to be further humanized. For
the future of the world stands in peril unless wiser people are
forthcoming".(17) The education of the moral conscience,
which makes every human being capable of judging and of discerning
the proper ways to achieve self-realization according to his
or her original truth, thus becomes a pressing requirement that
cannot be renounced. Modern culture must be led to
a more profoundly restored covenant with divine Wisdom. Every
man is given a share of such Wisdom through the creating action
of God. And it is only in faithfulness to this covenant that
the families of today will be in a position to influence positively
the building of a more just and fraternal world. Gradualness
and Conversion What is needed is a continuous,
permanent conversion which, while requiring an interior detachment
from every evil and an adherence to good in its fullness, is
brought about concretely in steps which lead us ever forward.
Thus a dynamic process develops, one which advances gradually
with the progressive integration of the gifts of God and the
demands of His definitive and absolute love in the entire personal
and social life of man. Therefore an educational growth process
is necessary, in order that individual believers, families and
peoples, even civilization itself, by beginning from what they
have already received of the mystery of Christ, may patiently
be led forward, arriving at a richer understanding and a fuller
integration of this mystery in their lives. Inculturation Holding fast to the two principles
of the compatibility with the Gospel of the various cultures
to be taken up, and of communion with the universal Church, there
must be further study, particularly by the Episcopal Conferences
and the appropriate departments of the Roman Curia, and greater
pastoral diligence so that this "inculturation" of
the Christian faith may come about ever more extensively, in
the context of marriage and the family as well as in other fields. It is by means of "inculturation"
that one proceeds toward the full restoration of the covenant
with the Wisdom of God, which is Christ Himself. The whole Church
will be enriched also by the cultures which, though lacking technology,
abound in human wisdom and are enlivened by profound moral values. So that the goal of this journey
might be clear and consequently the way plainly indicated, the
Synod was right to begin by considering in depth the original
design of God for marriage and the family: it "went back
to the beginning", in deference to the teaching of Christ.(19) THE
PLAN OF GOD FOR MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY Man,
the Image of the God Who Is Love God is love(21) and in Himself
He lives a mystery of personal loving communion. Creating the
human race in His own image and continually keeping it in being,
God inscribed in the humanity of man and woman the vocation,
and thus the capacity and responsibility, of love and communion.(22)
Love is therefore the fundamental and innate vocation of every
human being. As an incarnate spirit, that
is a soul which expresses itself in a body and a body informed
by an immortal spirit, man is called to love in his unified totality.
Love includes the human body, and the body is made a sharer in
spiritual love. Christian revelation recognizes
two specific ways of realizing the vocation of the human person
in its entirety, to love: marriage and virginity or celibacy.
Either one is, in its own proper form, an actuation of the most
profound truth of man, of his being "created in the image
of God". Consequently, sexuality, by means
of which man and woman give themselves to one another through
the acts which are proper and exclusive to spouses, is by no
means something purely biological, but concerns the innermost
being of the human person as such. It is realized in a truly
human way only if it is an integral part of the love by which
a man and a woman commit themselves totally to one another until
death. The total physical self-giving would be a lie if it were
not the sign and fruit of a total personal self-giving, in which
the whole person, including the temporal dimension, is present:
if the person were to withhold something or reserve the possibility
of deciding otherwise in the future, by this very fact he or
she would not be giving totally. This totality which is required
by conjugal love also corresponds to the demands of responsible
fertility. This fertility is directed to the generation of a
human being, and so by its nature it surpasses the purely biological
order and involves a whole series of personal values. For the
harmonious growth of these values a persevering and unified contribution
by both parents is necessary. The only "place" in
which this self-giving in its whole truth is made possible is
marriage, the covenant of conjugal love freely and consciously
chosen, whereby man and woman accept the intimate community of
life and love willed by God Himself(23) which only in this light
manifests its true meaning. The institution of marriage is not
an undue interference by society or authority, nor the extrinsic
imposition of a form. Rather it is an interior requirement of
the covenant of conjugal love which is publicly affirmed as unique
and exclusive, in order to live in complete fidelity to the plan
of God, the Creator. A person's freedom, far from being restricted
by this fidelity, is secured against every form of subjectivism
or relativism and is made a sharer in creative Wisdom. Marriage
and Communion Between God and People For this reason the central word
of Revelation, "God loves His people", is likewise
proclaimed through the living and concrete word whereby a man
and a woman express their conjugal love. Their bond of love becomes
the image and the symbol of the covenant which unites God and
His people.(24) And the same sin which can harm the conjugal
covenant becomes an image of the infidelity of the people to
their God: idolatry is prostitution,(25) infidelity is adultery,
disobedience to the law is abandonment of the spousal love of
the Lord. But the infidelity of Israel does not destroy the eternal
fidelity of the Lord, and therefore the ever faithful love of
God is put forward as the model of the of faithful love which
should exist between spouses. Jesus
Christ, Bridegroom of the Church, and the Sacrament of Matrimony He reveals the original truth
of marriage, the truth of the "beginning,"(27) and,
freeing man from his hardness of heart, He makes man capable
of realizing this truth in its entirety. This revelation reaches its definitive
fullness in the gift of love which the Word of God makes to humanity
in assuming a human nature, and in the sacrifice which Jesus
Christ makes of Himself on the Cross for His bride, the Church.
In this sacrifice there is entirely revealed that plan which
God has imprinted on the humanity of man and woman since their
creation(23); the marriage of baptized persons thus becomes a
real symbol of that new and eternal covenant sanctioned in the
blood of Christ. The Spirit which the Lord pours forth gives
a new heart, and renders man and woman capable of loving one
another as Christ has loved us. Conjugal love reaches that fullness
to which it is interiorly ordained, conjugal charity, which is
the proper and specific way in which the spouses participate
in and are called to live the very charity of Christ who gave
Himself on the Cross. In a deservedly famous page,
Tertullian has well expressed the greatness of this conjugal
life in Christ and its beauty: "How can I ever express the
happiness of the marriage that is joined together by the Church
strengthened by an offering, sealed by a blessing, announced
by angels and ratified by the Father? ... How wonderful the bond
between two believers with a single hope, a single desire, a
single observance, a single service! They are both brethren and
both fellow-servants; there is no separation between them in
spirit or flesh; in fact they are truly two in one flesh and
where the flesh is one, one is the spirit."(24) Receiving and meditating faithfully
on the word of God, the Church has solemnly taught and continues
to teach that the marriage of the baptized is one of the seven
sacraments of the New Covenant.(30) Indeed, by means of baptism,
man and woman are definitively placed within the new and eternal
covenant, in the spousal covenant of Christ with the Church.
And it is because of this indestructible insertion that the intimate
community of conjugal life and love, founded by the Creator,(31)
is elevated and assumed into the spousal charity of Christ, sustained
and enriched by His redeeming power. By virtue of the sacramentality
of their marriage, spouses are bound to one another in the most
profoundly indissoluble manner. Their belonging to each other
is the real representation, by means of the sacramental sign,
of the very relationship of Christ with the Church. Spouses are therefore the permanent
reminder to the Church of what happened on the Cross; they are
for one another and for the children witnesses to the salvation
in which the sacrament makes them sharers. Of this salvation
event marriage, like every sacrament, is a memorial, actuation
and prophecy: "As a memorial, the sacrament gives them the
grace and duty of commemorating the great works of God and of
bearing witness to them before their children. As actuation,
it gives them the grace and duty of putting into practice in
the present, towards each other and their children, the demands
of a love which forgives and redeems. As prophecy, it gives them
the grace and duty of living and bearing witness to the hope
of the future encounter with Christ."(32) Like each of the seven sacraments,
so also marriage is a real symbol of the event of salvation,
but in its own way. "The spouses participate in it as spouses,
together, as a couple, so that the first and immediate effect
of marriage (res et sacramentum) is not supernatural grace
itself, but the Christian conjugal bond, a typically Christian
communion of two persons because it represents the mystery of
Christ's incarnation and the mystery of His covenant. The content
of participation in Christ's life is also specific: conjugal
love involves a totality, in which all the elements of the person
enter -- appeal of the body and instinct, power of feeling and
affectivity, aspiration of the spirit and of will. It aims at
a deeply personal unity, the unity that, beyond union in one
flesh, leads to forming one heart and soul; it demands indissolubility
and faithfulness in definitive mutual giving; and it is open
to fertility (cf Humanae Vitae,
9). In a word it is a question of the normal characteristics
of all natural conjugal love, but with a new significance which
not only purifies and strengthens them, but raises them to the
extent of making them the expression of specifically Christian
values."(33) Children,
the Precious Gift of Marriage In its most profound reality,
love is essentially a gift; and conjugal love, while leading
the spouses to the reciprocal "knowledge" which makes
them "one flesh,"(35) does not end with the couple,
because it makes them capable of the greatest possible gift,
the gift by which they become cooperators with God for giving
life to a new human person. Thus the couple, while giving themselves
to one another, give not just themselves but also the reality
of children, who are a living reflection of their love, a permanent
sign of conjugal unity and a living and inseparable synthesis
of their being a father and a mother. When they become parents, spouses
receive from God the gift of a new responsibility. Their parental
love is called to become for the children the visible sign of
the very love of God, "from whom every family in heaven
and on earth is named."(36) It must not be forgotten however
that, even when procreation is not possible, conjugal life does
not for this reason lose its value. Physical sterility in fact
can be for spouses the occasion for other important services
to the life of the human person, for example, adoption, various
forms of educational work, and assistance to other families and
to poor or handicapped children. The
Family, a Communion of Persons Christian marriage and the Christian
family build up the Church: for in the family the human person
is not only brought into being and progressively introduced by
means of education into the human community, but by means of
the rebirth of baptism and education in the faith the child is
also introduced into God's family, which is the Church. The human family, disunited by
sin, is reconstituted in its unity by the redemptive power of
the death and Resurrection of Christ.(37) Christian marriage,
by participating in the salvific efficacy of this event, constitutes
the natural setting in which the human person is introduced into
the great family of the Church. The commandment to grow and multiply,
given to man and woman in the beginning, in this way reaches
its whole truth and full realization. The Church thus finds in the
family, born from the sacrament, the cradle and the setting in
which she can enter the human generations, and where these in
their turn can enter the Church. Marriage
and Virginity or Celibacy Rightly indeed does Saint John
Chrysostom say: "Whoever denigrates marriage also diminishes
the glory of virginity. Whoever praises it makes virginity more
admirable and resplendent. What appears good only in comparison
with evil would not be particularly good. It is something better
than what is admitted to be good that is the most excellent good."(38) In virginity or celibacy, the
human being is awaiting, also in a bodily way, the eschatological
marriage of Christ with the Church, giving himself or herself
completely to the Church in the hope that Christ may give Himself
to the Church in the full truth of eternal life. The celibate
person thus anticipates in his or her flesh the new world of
the future resurrection.(39) By virtue of this witness, virginity
or celibacy keeps alive in the Church a consciousness of the
mystery of marriage and defends it from any reduction and impoverishment. Virginity or celibacy, by liberating
the human heart in a unique way,(40) "so as to make it burn
with greater love for God and all humanity,"(41) bears witness
that the Kingdom of God and His justice is that pearl of great
price which is preferred to every other value no matter how great,
and hence must be sought as the only definitive value. It is
for this reason that the Church, throughout her history, has
always defended the superiority of this charism to that of marriage,
by reason of the wholly singular link which it has with the Kingdom
of God.(42) In spite of having renounced
physical fecundity, the celibate person becomes spiritually fruitful,
the father and mother of many, cooperating in the realization
of the family according to God's plan. Christian couples therefore have
the right to expect from celibate persons a good example and
a witness of fidelity to their vocation until death. Just as
fidelity at times becomes difficult for married people and requires
sacrifice, mortification and self-denial, the same can happen
to celibate persons, and their fidelity, even in the trials that
may occur, should strengthen the fidelity of married couples.(43) These reflections on virginity
or celibacy can enlighten and help those who, for reasons independent
of their own will, have been unable to marry and have then accepted
their situation in a spirit of service. THE
ROLE OF THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY Family,
Become What You Are Accordingly, the family must
go back to the "beginning" of God's creative act, if
it is to attain self-knowledge and self-realization in accordance
with the inner truth not only of what it is but also of what
it does in history. And since in God's plan it has been established
as an "intimate community of life and love,"(44) the
family has the mission to become more and more what it is, that
is to say, a community of life and love, in an effort that will
find fulfillment, as will everything created and redeemed, in
the Kingdom of God. Looking at it in such a way as to reach its
very roots, we must say that the essence and role of the family
are in the final analysis specified by love. Hence the family
has the mission to guard, reveal and communicate love, and this
is a living reflection of and a real sharing in God's love for
humanity and the love of Christ the Lord for the Church His bride. Every particular task of the
family is an expressive and concrete actuation of that fundamental
mission. We must therefore go deeper into the unique riches of
the family's mission and probe its contents, which are both manifold
and unified. Thus, with love as its point
of departure and making constant reference to it, the recent
Synod emphasized four general tasks for the family: 1) forming a community of persons; 2) serving life; 3) participating in the development
of society; 4) sharing in the life and mission
of the Church. I
- FORMING A COMMUNITY OF PERSONS Love
as the Principle and Power of Communion The inner principle of that task,
its permanent power and its final goal is love: without love
the family is not a community of persons and, in the same way,
without love the family cannot live, grow and perfect itself
as a community of persons. What I wrote in the Encyclical Redemptor Hominis applies
primarily and especially within the family as such: "Man
cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible
for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to
him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience
it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately
in it."(45) The love between husband and
wife and, in a derivatory and broader way, the love between members
of the same family -- between parents and children, brothers
and sisters and relatives and members of the household -- is
given life and sustenance by an unceasing inner dynamism leading
the family to ever deeper and more intense communion, which is
the foundation and soul of the community of marriage and the
family. The
Indivisible Unity of Conjugal Communion This conjugal communion sinks
its roots in the natural complementarity that exists between
man and woman, and is nurtured through the personal willingness
of the spouses to share their entire life-project, what they
have and what they are: for this reason such communion is the
fruit and the sign of a profoundly human need. But in the Lord
Christ God takes up this human need, confirms it, purifies it
and elevates it, leading it to perfection through the sacrament
of matrimony: the Holy Spirit who is poured out in the sacramental
celebration offers Christian couples the gift of a new communion
of love that is the living and real image of that unique unity
which makes of the Church the indivisible Mystical Body of the
Lord Jesus. The gift of the Spirit is a commandment
of life for Christian spouses and at the same time a stimulating
impulse so that every day they may progress towards an ever richer
union with each other on all levels -- of the body, of the character,
of the heart, of the intelligence and will, of the soul(47) --
revealing in this way to the Church and to the world the new
communion of love, given by the grace of Christ. Such a communion is radically
contradicted by polygamy: this, in fact, directly negates the
plan of God which was revealed from the beginning, because it
is contrary to the equal personal dignity of men and women who
in matrimony give themselves with a love that is total and therefore
unique and exclusive. As the Second Vatican Council writes: "Firmly
established by the Lord, the unity of marriage will radiate from
the equal personal dignity of husband and wife, a dignity acknowledged
by mutual and total love."(48) An
Indissoluble Communion It is a fundamental duty of the
Church to reaffirm strongly, as the Synod Fathers did, the doctrine
of the indissolubility of marriage. To all those who, in our
times, consider it too difficult, or indeed impossible, to be
bound to one person for the whole of life, and to those caught
up in a culture that rejects the indissolubility of marriage
and openly mocks the commitment of spouses to fidelity, it is
necessary to reconfirm the good news of the definitive nature
of that conjugal love that has in Christ its foundation and strength.(50) Being rooted in the personal
and total self-giving of the couple, and being required by the
good of the children, the indissolubility of marriage finds its
ultimate truth in the plan that God has manifested in His revelation:
He wills and He communicates the indissolubility of marriage
as a fruit, a sign and a requirement of the absolutely faithful
love that God has for man and that the Lord Jesus has for the
Church. Christ renews the first plan
that the Creator inscribed in the hearts of man and woman, and
in the celebration of the sacrament of matrimony offers a "new
heart": thus the couples are not only able to overcome "hardness
of heart,"(51) but also and above all they are able to share
the full and definitive love of Christ, the new and eternal Covenant
made flesh. Just as the Lord Jesus is the "faithful witness,"(52)
the "yes" of the promises of God(53) and thus the supreme
realization of the unconditional faithfulness with which God
loves His people, so Christian couples are called to participate
truly in the irrevocable indissolubility that binds Christ to
the Church His bride, loved by Him to the end.(54) The gift of the sacrament is
at the same time a vocation and commandment for the Christian
spouses, that they may remain faithful to each other forever,
beyond every trial and difficulty, in generous obedience to the
holy will of the Lord: "What therefore God has joined together,
let not man put asunder."(55) To bear witness to the inestimable
value of the indissolubility and fidelity of marriage is one
of the most precious and most urgent tasks of Christian couples
in our time. So, with all my Brothers who participated in the
Synod of Bishops, I praise and encourage those numerous couples
who, though encountering no small difficulty, preserve and develop
the value of indissolubility: thus, in a humble and courageous
manner, they perform the role committed to them of being in the
world a "sign" -- a small and precious sign, sometimes
also subjected to temptation, but always renewed -- of the unfailing
fidelity with which God and Jesus Christ love each and every
human being. But it is also proper to recognize the value of
the witness of those spouses who, even when abandoned by their
partner, with the strength of faith and of Christian hope have
not entered a new union: these spouses too give an authentic
witness to fidelity, of which the world today has a great need.
For this reason they must be encouraged and helped by the pastors
and the faithful of the Church. The
Broader Communion of the Family This communion is rooted in the
natural bonds of flesh and blood, and grows to its specifically
human perfection with the establishment and maturing of the still
deeper and richer bonds of the spirit: the love that animates
the interpersonal relationships of the different members of the
family constitutes the interior strength that shapes and animates
the family communion and community. The Christian family is also
called to experience a new and original communion which confirms
and perfects natural and human communion. In fact the grace of
Jesus Christ, "the first-born among many brethren"(56)
is by its nature and interior dynamism "a grace of brotherhood",
as Saint Thomas Aquinas calls it.(57) The Holy Spirit, who is
poured forth in the celebration of the sacraments, is the living
source and inexhaustible sustenance of the supernatural communion
that gathers believers and links them with Christ and with each
other in the unity of the Church of God. The Christian family
constitutes a specific revelation and realization of ecclesial
communion, and for this reason too it can and should be called
"the domestic Church."(58) All members of the family, each
according to his or her own gift, have the grace and responsibility
of building, day by day, the communion of persons, making the
family "a school of deeper humanity"(59): this happens
where there is care and love for the little ones, the sick, the
aged; where there is mutual service every day; when there is
a sharing of goods, of joys and of sorrows. A fundamental opportunity for
building such a communion is constituted by the educational exchange
between parents and children,(60) in which each gives and receives.
By means of love, respect and obedience towards their parents,
children offer their specific and irreplaceable contribution
to the construction of an authentically human and Christian family.(61)
They will be aided in this if parents exercise their unrenounceable
authority as a true and proper "ministry", that is,
as a service to the human and Christian well-being of their children,
and in particular as a service aimed at helping them acquire
a truly responsible freedom, and if parents maintain a living
awareness of the "gift" they continually receive from
their children. Family communion can only be
preserved and perfected through a great spirit of sacrifice.
It requires, in fact, a ready and generous openness of each and
all to understanding, to forbearance, to pardon, to reconciliation.
There is no family that does not know how selfishness, discord,
tension and conflict violently attack and at times mortally wound
its own communion: hence there arise the many and varied forms
of division in family life. But, at the same time, every family
is called by the God of peace to have the joyous and renewing
experience of "reconciliation", that is, communion
reestablished, unity restored. In particular, participation in
the sacrament of Reconciliation and in the banquet of the one
Body of Christ offers to the Christian family the grace and the
responsibility of overcoming every division and of moving towards
the fullness of communion willed by God, responding in this way
to the ardent desire of the Lord: "that they may be one."(62) The
Rights and Role of Women In this perspective the Synod
devoted special attention to women, to their rights and role
within the family and society. In the same perspective are also
to be considered men as husbands and fathers, and likewise children
and the elderly. Above all it is important to
underline the equal dignity and responsibility of women with
men. This equality is realized in a unique manner in that reciprocal
self-giving by each one to the other and by both to the children
which is proper to marriage and the family. What human reason
intuitively perceives and acknowledges is fully revealed by the
word of God: the history of salvation, in fact, is a continuous
and luminous testimony of the dignity of women. In creating the human race "male
and female,"(64) God gives man and woman an equal personal
dignity, endowing them with the inalienable rights and responsibilities
proper to the human person. God then manifests the dignity of
women in the highest form possible, by assuming human flesh from
the Virgin Mary, whom the Church honors as the Mother of God,
calling her the new Eve and presenting her as the model of redeemed
woman. The sensitive respect of Jesus toward the women that He
called to His following and His friendship, His appearing on
Easter morning to a woman before the other disciples, the mission
entrusted to women to carry the good news of the Resurrection
to the apostles -- these are all signs that confirm the special
esteem of the Lord Jesus for women. The Apostle Paul will say:
"In Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith....
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free,
there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ
Jesus."(65) Women
and Society There is no doubt that the equal
dignity and responsibility of men and women fully justifies women's
access to public functions. On the other hand the true advancement
of women requires that clear recognition be given to the value
of their maternal and family role, by comparison with all other
public roles and all other professions. Furthermore, these roles
and professions should be harmoniously combined, if we wish the
evolution of society and culture to be truly and fully human. This will come about more easily
if, in accordance with the wishes expressed by the Synod, a renewed
"theology of work" can shed light upon and study in
depth the meaning of work in the Christian life and determine
the fundamental bond between work and the family, and therefore
the original and irreplaceable meaning of work in the home and
in rearing children.(66) Therefore the Church can and should
help modern society by tirelessly insisting that the work of
women in the home be recognized and respected by all in its irreplaceable
value. This is of particular importance in education: for possible
discrimination between the different types of work and professions
is eliminated at its very root once it is clear that all people,
in every area, are working with equal rights and equal responsibilities.
The image of God in man and in woman will thus be seen with added
luster. While it must be recognized that
women have the same right as men to perform various public functions,
society must be structured in such a way that wives and mothers
are not in practice compelled to work outside the home, and that
their families can live and prosper in a dignified way even when
they themselves devote their full time to their own family. Furthermore, the mentality which
honors women more for their work outside the home than for their
work within the family must be overcome. This requires that men
should truly esteem and love women with total respect for their
personal dignity, and that society should create and develop
conditions favoring work in the home. With due respect to the different
vocations of men and women, the Church must in her own life promote
as far as possible their equality of rights and dignity: and
this for the good of all, the family, the Church and society. But clearly all of this does
not mean for women a renunciation of their femininity or an imitation
of the male role, but the fullness of true feminine humanity
which should be expressed in their activity, whether in the family
or outside of it, without disregarding the differences of customs
and cultures in this sphere. Offenses
Against Women's Dignity This mentality produces very
bitter fruits, such as contempt for men and for women, slavery,
oppression of the weak, pornography, prostitution -- especially
in an organized form -- and all those various forms of discrimination
that exist in the fields of education, employment, wages, etc. Besides, many forms of degrading
discrimination still persist today in a great part of our society
that affect and seriously harm particular categories of women,
as for example childless wives, widows, separated or divorced
women, and unmarried mothers. The Synod Fathers deplored these
and other forms of discrimination as strongly as possible. I
therefore ask that vigorous and incisive pastoral action be taken
by all to overcome them definitively so that the image of God
that shines in all human beings without exception may be fully
respected. Men
as Husbands and Fathers In his wife he sees the fulfillment
of God's intention: "It is not good that the man should
be alone, I will make him a helper fit for him,"(67) and
he makes his own the cry of Adam, the first husband: "This
at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh."(68) Authentic conjugal love presupposes
and requires that a man have a profound respect for the equal
dignity of his wife: "You are not her master", writes
Saint Ambrose, "but her husband; she was not given to you
to be your slave, but your wife.... Reciprocate her attentiveness
to you and be grateful to her for her love."(69) With his
wife a man should live "a very special form of personal
friendship."(70) As for the Christian, he is called upon
to develop a new attitude of love, manifesting toward his wife
a charity that is both gentle and strong like that which Christ
has for the Church". Love for his wife as mother of
their children and love for the children themselves are for the
man the natural way of understanding and fulfilling his own fatherhood.
Above all where social and cultural conditions so easily encourage
a father to be less concerned with his family or at any rate
less involved in the work of education, efforts must be made
to restore socially the conviction that the place and task of
the father in and for the family is of unique and irreplaceable
importance.(72) As experience teaches, the absence of a father
causes psychological and moral imbalance and notable difficulties
in family relationships, as does, in contrary circumstances,
the oppressive presence of a father, especially where there still
prevails the phenomenon of "machismo", or a wrong superiority
of male prerogatives which humiliates women and inhibits the
development of healthy family relationships. In revealing and in reliving
on earth the very fatherhood of God,(73) a man is called upon
to ensure the harmonious and united development of all the members
of the family: he will perform this task by exercising generous
responsibility for the life conceived under the heart of the
mother, by a more solicitous commitment to education, a task
he shares with his wife,(74) by work which is never a cause of
division in the family but promotes its unity and stability,
and by means of the witness he gives of an adult Christian life
which effectively introduces the children into the living experience
of Christ and the Church. The
Rights of Children By fostering and exercising a
tender and strong concern for every child that comes into this
world, the Church fulfills a fundamental mission: for she is
called upon to reveal and put forward anew in history the example
and the commandment of Christ the Lord, who placed the child
at the heart of the Kingdom of God: "Let the children come
to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom
of heaven."(75) I repeat once again what I said
to the General Assembly of the United Nations on October 2, 1979:
"I wish to express the joy that we all find in children,
the springtime of life, the anticipation of the future history
of each of our present earthly homelands. No country on earth,
no political system can think of its own future otherwise than
through the image of these new generations that will receive
from their parents the manifold heritage of values, duties and
aspirations of the nation to which they belong and of the whole
human family. Concern for the child, even before birth, from
the first moment of conception and then throughout the years
of infancy and youth, is the primary and fundamental test of
the relationship of one human being to another. And so, what
better wish can I express for every nation and for the whole
of mankind, and for all the children of the world than a better
future in which respect for human rights will become a complete
reality throughout the third millennium, which is drawing near?"(76) Acceptance, love, esteem, many-sided
and united material, emotional, educational and spiritual concern
for every child that comes into this world should always constitute
a distinctive, essential characteristic of all Christians, in
particular of the Christian family: thus children, while they
are able to grow "in wisdom and in stature, and in favor
with God and man,"(77) offer their own precious contribution
to building up the family community and even to the sanctification
of their parents.(78) The
Elderly in the Family Other cultures, however, especially
in the wake of disordered industrial and urban development, have
both in the past and in the present set the elderly aside in
unacceptable ways. This causes acute suffering to them and spiritually
impoverishes many families. The pastoral activity of the
Church must help everyone to discover and to make good use of
the role of the elderly within the civil and ecclesial community,
in particular within the family. In fact, "the life of the
aging helps to clarify a scale of human values; it shows the
continuity of generations and marvelously demonstrates the interdependence
of God's people. The elderly often have the charism to bridge
generation gaps before they are made: how many children have
found understanding and love in the eyes and words and caresses
of the aging! And how many old people have willingly subscribed
to the inspired word that the 'crown of the aged is their children's
children'(Prv. 17:6)!l "(79) II
- SERVING LIFE 1.
The Transmission of Life Cooperators
in the Love of God the Creator Thus the fundamental task of
the family is to serve life, to actualize in history the original
blessing of the Creator -- that of transmitting by procreation
the divine image from person to person.(81) Fecundity is the fruit and the
sign of conjugal love, the living testimony of the full reciprocal
selfgiving of the spouses: "While not making the other purposes
of matrimony of less account, the true practice of conjugal love,
and the whole meaning of the family life which results from it,
have this aim: that the couple be ready with stout hearts to
cooperate with the love of the Creator and the Savior, who through
them will enlarge and enrich His own family day by day."(82) However, the fruitfulness of
conjugal love is not restricted solely to the procreation of
children, even understood in its specifically human dimension:
it is enlarged and enriched by all those fruits of moral, spiritual
and supernatural life which the father and mother are called
to hand on to their children, and through the children to the
Church and to the world. The
Church's Teaching and Norm, Always Old Yet Always New Thus, in continuity with the
living tradition of the ecclesial community throughout history,
the recent Second Vatican Council and the magisterium of my predecessor
Paul VI, expressed above all in the Encyclical Humanae
vitae, have handed on to our times a truly prophetic
proclamation, which reaffirms and reproposes with clarity the
Church's teaching and norm, always old yet always new, regarding
marriage and regarding the transmission of human life. For this reason the Synod Fathers
made the following declaration at their last assembly: "This
Sacred Synod, gathered together with the Successor of Peter in
the unity of faith, firmly holds what has been set forth in the
Second Vatican Council (cf. Gaudium et spes, 50) and afterwards
in the Encyclical Humanae vitae,
particularly that love between husband and wife must be fully
human, exclusive and open to new life (Humanae
Vitae, 11; cf. 9, 12)."(83) The
Church Stands for Life Scientific and technical progress,
which contemporary man is continually expanding in his dominion
over nature, not only offers the hope of creating a new and better
humanity, but also causes ever greater anxiety regarding the
future. Some ask themselves if it is a good thing to be alive
or if it would be better never to have been born; they doubt
therefore if it is right to bring others into life when perhaps
they will curse their existence in a cruel world with unforeseeable
terrors. Others consider themselves to be the only ones for whom
the advantages of technology are intended and they exclude others
by imposing on them contraceptives or even worse means. Still
others, imprisoned in a consumer mentality and whose sole concern
is to bring about a continual growth of material goods, finish
by ceasing to understand, and thus by refusing, the spiritual
riches of a new human life. The ultimate reason for these mentalities
is the absence in people's hearts of God, whose love alone is
stronger than all the world's fears and can conquer them. Thus an anti-life mentality is
born, as can be seen in many current issues: one thinks, for
example, of a certain panic deriving from the studies of ecologists
and futurologists on population growth, which sometimes exaggerate
the danger of demographic increase to the quality of life. But the Church firmly believes
that human life, even if weak and suffering, is always a splendid
gift of God's goodness. Against the pessimism and selfishness
which cast a shadow over the world, the Church stands for life:
in each human life she sees the splendor of that "Yes",
that "Amen", who is Christ Himself.(84) To the "No"
which assails and afflicts the world, she replies with this living
"Yes", thus defending the human person and the world
from all who plot against and harm life. The Church is called upon to
manifest anew to everyone, with clear and stronger conviction,
her will to promote human life by every means and to defend it
against all attacks, in whatever condition or state of development
it is found. Thus the Church condemns as a
grave offense against human dignity and justice all those activities
of governments or other public authorities which attempt to limit
in any way the freedom of couples in deciding about children.
Consequently, any violence applied by such authorities in favor
of contraception or, still worse, of sterilization and procured
abortion, must be altogether condemned and forcefully rejected.
Likewise to be denounced as gravely unjust are cases where, in
international relations, economic help given for the advancement
of peoples is made conditional on programs of contraception,
sterilization and procured abortion.(85) That
God's Design May Be Ever More Completely Fulfilled However, she holds that consideration
in depth of all the aspects of these problems offers a new and
stronger confirmation of the importance of the authentic teaching
on birth regulation reproposed in the Second Vatican Council
and in the Encyclical Humanae Vitae. For this reason, together with
the Synod Fathers I feel it is my duty to extend a pressing invitation
to theologians, asking them to unite their efforts in order to
collaborate with the hierarchical Magisterium and to commit themselves
to the task of illustrating ever more clearly the biblical foundations,
the ethical grounds and the personalistic reasons behind this
doctrine. Thus it will be possible, in the context of an organic
exposition, to render the teaching of the Church on this fundamental
question truly accessible to all people of good will, fostering
a daily more enlightened and profound understanding of it: in
this way God's plan will be ever more completely fulfilled for
the salvation of humanity and for the glory of the Creator. A united effort by theologians
in this regard, inspired by a convinced adherence to the Magisterium,
which is the one authentic guide for the People of God, is particularly
urgent for reasons that include the close link between Catholic
teaching on this matter and the view of the human person that
the Church proposes: doubt or error in the field of marriage
or the family involves obscuring to a serious extent the integral
truth about the human person, in a cultural situation that is
already so often confused and contradictory. In fulfillment of
their specific role, theologians are called upon to provide enlightenment
and a deeper understanding, and their contribution is of incomparable
value and represents a unique and highly meritorious service
to the family and humanity. In
an Integral Vision of the Human Person and of His or Her Vocation In this perspective the Second
Vatican Council clearly affirmed that "when there is a question
of harmonizing conjugal love with the responsible transmission
of life, the moral aspect of any procedure does not depend solely
on sincere intentions or on an evaluation of motives. It must
be determined by objective standards. These, based on the nature
of the human person and his or her acts, preserve the full sense
of mutual self-giving and human procreation in the context of
true love. Such a goal cannot be achieved unless the virtue of
conjugal chastity is sincerely practiced."(85) It is precisely by moving from
"an integral vision of man and of his vocation, not only
his natural and earthly, but also his supernatural and eternal
vocation,"(87) that Paul VI affirmed that the teaching of
the Church "is founded upon the inseparable connection,
willed by God and unable to be broken by man on his own initiative,
between the two meanings of the conjugal act: the unitive meaning
and the procreative meaning."(88) And he concluded by re-emphasizing
that there must be excluded as intrinsically immoral "every
action which, either in anticipation of the conjugal act, or
in its accomplishment, or in the development of its natural consequences,
proposes, whether as an end or as a means, to render procreation
impossible."(89) When couples, by means of recourse
to contraception, separate these two meanings that God the Creator
has inscribed in the being of man and woman and in the dynamism
of their sexual communion, they act as "arbiters" of
the divine plan and they "manipulate" and degrade human
sexuality-and with it themselves and their married partner-by
altering its value of "total" self-giving. Thus the
innate language that expresses the total reciprocal self-giving
of husband and wife is overlaid, through contraception, by an
objectively contradictory language, namely, that of not giving
oneself totally to the other. This leads not only to a positive
refusal to be open to life but also to a falsification of the
inner truth of conjugal love, which is called upon to give itself
in personal totality. When, instead, by means of recourse
to periods of infertility, the couple respect the inseparable
connection between the unitive and procreative meanings of human
sexuality, they are acting as "ministers" of God's
plan and they "benefit from" their sexuality according
to the original dynamism of "total" selfgiving, without
manipulation or alteration.(90) In the light of the experience
of many couples and of the data provided by the different human
sciences, theological reflection is able to perceive and is called
to study further the difference, both anthropological and moral,
between contraception and recourse to the rhythm of the cycle:
it is a difference which is much wider and deeper than is usually
thought, one which involves in the final analysis two irreconcilable
concepts of the human person and of human sexuality. The choice
of the natural rhythms involves accepting the cycle of the person,
that is the woman, and thereby accepting dialogue, reciprocal
respect, shared responsibility and self- control. To accept the
cycle and to enter into dialogue means to recognize both the
spiritual and corporal character of conjugal communion and to
live personal love with its requirement of fidelity. In this
context the couple comes to experience how conjugal communion
is enriched with those values of tenderness and affection which
constitute the inner soul of human sexuality, in its physical
dimension also. In this way sexuality is respected and promoted
in its truly and fully human dimension, and is never "used"
as an "object" that, by breaking the personal unity
of soul and body, strikes at God's creation itself at the level
of the deepest interaction of nature and person. The
Church as Teacher and Mother for Couples in Difficulty 33. In the field of conjugal
morality the Church is Teacher and Mother and acts as such. As Teacher, she never tires of
proclaiming the moral norm that must guide the responsible transmission
of life. The Church is in no way the author or the arbiter of
this norm. In obedience to the truth which is Christ, whose image
is reflected in the nature and dignity of the human person, the
Church interprets the moral norm and proposes it to all people
of good will, without concealing its demands of radicalness and
perfection. As Mother, the Church is close
to the many married couples who find themselves in difficulty
over this important point of the moral life: she knows well their
situation, which is often very arduous and at times truly tormented
by difficulties of every kind, not only individual difficulties
but social ones as well; she knows that many couples encounter
difficulties not only in the concrete fulfillment of the moral
norm but even in understanding its inherent values. But it is one and the same Church
that is both Teacher and Mother. And so the Church never ceases
to exhort and encourage all to resolve whatever conjugal difficulties
may arise without ever falsifying or compromising the truth:
she is convinced that there can be no true contradiction between
the divine law on transmitting life and that on fostering authentic
married love.(91) Accordingly, the concrete pedagogy of the Church
must always remain linked with her doctrine and never be separated
from it. With the same conviction as my predecessor, I therefore
repeat: "To diminish in no way the saving teaching of Christ
constitutes an eminent form of charity for souls."(92) On the other hand, authentic
ecclesial pedagogy displays its realism and wisdom only by making
a tenacious and courageous effort to create and uphold all the
human conditions-psychological, moral and spiritual-indispensable
for understanding and living the moral value and norm. There is no doubt that these
conditions must include persistence and patience, humility and
strength of mind, filial trust in God and in His grace, and frequent
recourse to prayer and to the sacraments of the Eucharist and
of Reconciliation.(93) Thus strengthened, Christian husbands
and wives will be able to keep alive their awareness of the unique
influence that the grace of the sacrament of marriage has on
every aspect of married life, including therefore their sexuality:
the gift of the Spirit, accepted and responded to by husband
and wife, helps them to live their human sexuality in accordance
with God's plan and as a sign of the unitive and fruitful love
of Christ for His Church. But the necessary conditions
alone in the knowledge of the bodily aspect and the body's rhythms
of fertility. Accordingly, every effort must be made to render
such knowledge accessible to all married people and also to young
adults before marriage, through clear, timely and serious instruction
and education given by married couples, doctors and experts.
Knowledge must then lead to education in selfcontrol: hence the
absolute necessity for the virtue of chastity and for permanent
education in it. In the Christian view, chastily by no means
signifies rejection of human sexuality or lack of esteem for
it: rather it signifies spiritual energy capable of defending
love from the perils of selfishness and aggressiveness, and able
to advance it towards its full realization. With deeply wise and loving intuition, Paul VI was only voicing the experience of many married couples when he wrote in his Encyclical: "To dominate instinct by means of one's reason and free will undoubtedly requires ascetical practices, so that the affective manifestations of conjugal life may observe the correct order, in particular with regard to the observance of periodic continence. Yet this discipline which is proper to the purity of married couples, far from harming conjugal love, rather confers on it a higher human value. It demands continual effort, yet, thanks to its beneficent influence, husband and wife fully develop their personalities, being enriched with spiritual values. Such discipline bestows upon family life fruits of serenity and peace, and facilitates the solution of other problems; it favors attention for one's partner, helps both parties to drive out selfishness, the enemy of true love, and deepens their sense of responsibility. By its means, parents acquire the capacity of having a deeper and more efficacious influence in the education of their offspring."[94] The
Moral Progress of Married People 34. It is always very important
to have a right notion of the moral order, its values and its
norms; and the importance is all the greater when the difficulties
in the way of respecting them become more numerous and serious. Since the moral order reveals
and sets forth the plan of God the Creator, for this very reason
it cannot be something that harms man, something impersonal.
On the contrary, by responding to the deepest demands of the
human being created by God, it places itself at the service of
that person's full humanity with the delicate and binding love
whereby God Himself inspires, sustains and guides every creature
towards its happiness. But man, who has been called
to live God's wise and loving design in a responsible manner,
is an historical being who day by day builds himself up through
his many free decisions; and so he knows, loves and accomplishes
moral good by stages of growth. Married people too are called
upon to progress unceasingly in their moral life, with the support
of a sincere and active desire to gain ever better knowledge
of the values enshrined in and fostered by the law of God. They
must also be supported by an upright and generous willingness
to embody these values in their concrete decisions. They cannot
however look on the law as merely an ideal to be achieved in
the future: they must consider it as a command of Christ the
Lord to overcome difficulties with constancy. "And so what
is known as 'the law of gradualness' or step-by-step advance
cannot be identified with 'gradualness of the law,' as if there
were different degrees or forms of precept in God's law for different
individuals and situations. In God's plan, all husbands and wives
are called in marriage to holiness, and this lofty vocation is
fulfilled to the extent that the human person is able to respond
to God's command with serene confidence in God's grace and in
his or her own will."(95) On the same lines, it is part
of the Church's pedagogy that husbands and wives should first
of all recognize clearly the teaching of Humanae Vitae as indicating
the norm for the exercise of their sexuality, and that they should
endeavor to establish the conditions necessary for observing
that norm. As the Synod noted, this pedagogy
embraces the whole of married life. Accordingly, the function
of transmitting life must be integrated into the overall mission
of Christian life as a whole, which without the Cross cannot
reach the Resurrection. In such a context it is understandable
that sacrifice cannot be removed from family life, but must in
fact be wholeheartedly accepted if the love between husband and
wife is to be deepened and become a source of intimate joy. This shared progress demands
reflection, instruction and suitable education on the part of
the priests, religious and lay people engaged in family pastoral
work: they will all be able to assist married people in their
human and spiritual progress, a progress that demands awareness
of sin, a sincere commitment to observe the moral law, and the
ministry of reconciliation. It must also be kept in mind that
conjugal intimacy involves the wills of two persons, who are
however called to harmonize their mentality and behavior: this
requires much patience, understanding and time. Uniquely important
in this field is unity of moral and pastoral judgment by priests,
a unity that must be carefully sought and ensured, in order that
the faithful may not have to suffer anxiety of conscience.(96) It will be easier for married
people to make progress if, with respect for the Church's teaching
and with trust in the grace of Christ, and with the help and
support of the pastors of souls and the entire ecclesial community,
they are able to discover and experience the liberating and inspiring
value of the authentic love that is offered by the Gospel and
set before us by the Lord's commandment. Instilling
Conviction and Offering Practical Help 35. With regard to the question
of lawful birth regulation, the ecclesial community at the present
time must take on the task of instilling conviction and offering
practical help to those who wish to live out their parenthood
in a truly responsible way. In this matter, while the Church
notes with satisfaction the results achieved by scientific research
aimed at a more precise knowledge of the rhythms of women's fertility,
and while it encourages a more decisive and wide-ranging extension
of that research, it cannot fail to call with renewed vigor on
the responsibility of all-doctors, experts, marriage counselors,
teachers and married couples-who can actually help married people
to live their love with respect for the structure and finalities
of the conjugal act which expresses that love. This implies a
broader, more decisive and more systematic effort to make the
natural methods of regulating fertility known, respected and
applied.(97) A very valuable witness can and
should be given by those husbands and wives who through the joint
exercise of periodic continence have reached a more mature personal
responsibility with regard to love and life. As Paul VI wrote:
"To them the Lord entrusts the task of making visible to
people the holiness and sweetness of the law which unites the
mutual love of husband and wife with their cooperation with the
love of God, the author of human life."(98) 2.
Education The
Right and Duty of Parents in Education 36. The task of giving education
is rooted in the primary vocation of married couples to participate
in God's creative activity: by begetting in love and for love
a new person who has within himself or herself the vocation to
growth and development, parents by that very fact take on the
task of helping that person effectively to live a fully human
life. As the Second Vatican Council recalled, "since parents
have conferred life on their children, they have a most solemn
obligation to educate their offspring. Hence, parents must be
acknowledged as the first and foremost educators of their children.
Their role as educators is so decisive that scarcely anything
can compensate for their failure in it. For it devolves on parents
to create a family atmosphere so animated with love and reverence
for God and others that a well-rounded personal and social development
will be fostered among the children. Hence, the family is the
first school of those social virtues which every society needs."(99) The right and duty of parents
to give education is essential, since it is connected with the
transmission of human life; it is original and primary with regard
to the educational role of others, on account of the uniqueness
of the loving relationship between parents and children; and
it is irreplaceable and inalienable, and therefore incapable
of being entirely delegated to others or usurped by others. In addition to these characteristics,
it cannot be forgotten that the most basic element, so basic
that it qualifies the educational role of parents, is parental
love, which finds fulfillment in the task of education as it
completes and perfects its service of life: as well as being
a source, the parents' love is also the animating principle and
therefore the norm inspiring and guiding all concrete educational
activity, enriching it with the values of kindness, constancy,
goodness, service, disinterestedness and self-sacrifice that
are the most precious fruit of love. Educating
in the Essential Values of Human Life 37. Even amid the difficulties
of the work of education, difficulties which are often greater
today, parents must trustingly and courageously train their children
in the essential values of human life. Children must grow up
with a correct attitude of freedom with regard to material goods,
by adopting a simple and austere life style and being fully convinced
that "man is more precious for what he is than for what
he has."(100) In a society shaken and split
by tensions and conflicts caused by the violent clash of various
kinds of individualism and selfishness, children must be enriched
not only with a sense of true justice, which alone leads to respect
for the personal dignity of each individual, but also and more
powerfully by a sense of true love, understood as sincere solicitude
and disinterested service with regard to others, especially the
poorest and those in most need. The family is the first and fundamental
school of social living: as a community of love, it finds in
self-giving the law that guides it and makes it grow. The self-
giving that inspires the love of husband and wife for each other
is the model and norm for the self-giving that must be practiced
in the relationships between brothers and sisters and the different
generations living together in the family. And the communion
and sharing that are part of everyday life in the home at times
of joy and at times of difficulty are the most concrete and effective
pedagogy for the active, responsible and fruitful inclusion of
the children in the wider horizon of society. Education in love as self-giving
is also the indispensable premise for parents called to give
their children a clear and delicate sex education. Faced with
a culture that largely reduces human sexuality to the level of
something common place, since it interprets and lives it in a
reductive and impoverished way by linking it solely with the
body and with selfish pleasure, the educational service of parents
must aim firmly at a training in the area of sex that is truly
and fully personal: for sexuality is an enrichment of the whole
person-body, emotions and soul-and it manifests its inmost meaning
in leading the person to the gift of self in love. Sex education, which is a basic
right and duty of parents, must always be carried out under their
attentive guidance, whether at home or in educational centers
chosen and controlled by them. In this regard, the Church reaffirms
the law of subsidiarity, which the school is bound to observe
when it cooperates in sex education, by entering into the same
spirit that animates the parents. In this context education for
chastity is absolutely essential, for it is a virtue that develops
a person's authentic maturity and makes him or her capable of
respecting and fostering the "nuptial meaning" of the
body. Indeed Christian parents, discerning the signs of God's
call, will devote special attention and care to education in
virginity or celibacy as the supreme form of that self-giving
that constitutes the very meaning of human sexuality. In view of the close links between
the sexual dimension of the person and his or her ethical values,
education must bring the children to a knowledge of and respect
for the moral norms as the necessary and highly valuable guarantee
for responsible personal growth in human sexuality. For this reason the Church is
firmly opposed to an often widespread form of imparting sex information
dissociated from moral principles. That would merely be an introduction
to the experience of pleasure and a stimulus leading to the loss
of serenity-while still in the years of innocence-by opening
the way to vice. The
Mission To Educate and the Sacrament of Marriage 38. For Christian parents the
mission to educate, a mission rooted, as we have said, in their
participation in God's creating activity, has a new specific
source in the sacrament of marriage, which consecrates them for
the strictly Christian education of their children: that is to
say, it calls upon them to share in the very authority and love
of God the Father and Christ the Shepherd, and in the motherly
love of the Church, and it enriches them with wisdom, counsel,
fortitude and all the other gifts of the Holy Spirit in order
to help the children in their growth as human beings and as Christians. The sacrament of marriage gives
to the educational role the dignity and vocation of being really
and truly a "ministry" of the Church at the service
of the building up of her members. So great and splendid is the
educational ministry of Christian parents that Saint Thomas has
no hesitation in comparing it with the ministry of priests: "Some
only propagate and guard spiritual life by a spiritual ministry:
this is the role of the sacrament of Orders; others do this for
both corporal and spiritual life, and this is brought about by
the sacrament of marriage, by which a man and a woman join in
order to beget offspring and bring them up to worship God."(101) A vivid and attentive awareness
of the mission that they have received with the sacrament of
marriage will help Christian parents to place themselves at the
service of their children's education with great serenity and
trustfulness, and also with a sense of responsibility before
God, who calls them and gives them the mission of building up
the Church in their children. Thus in the case of baptized people,
the family, called together by word and sacrament as the Church
of the home, is both teacher and mother, the same as the worldwide
Church. First
Experience of the Church 39. The mission to educate demands
that Christian parents should present to their children all the
topics that are necessary for the gradual maturing of their personality
from a Christian and ecclesial point of view. They will therefore
follow the educational lines mentioned above, taking care to
show their children the depths of significance to which the faith
and love of Jesus Christ can lead. Furthermore, their awareness
that the Lord is entrusting to them the growth of a child of
God, a brother or sister of Christ, a temple of the Holy Spirit,
a member of the Church, will support Christian parents in their
task of strengthening the gift of divine grace in their children's
souls. The Second Vatican Council describes
the content of Christian education as follows: "Such an
education does not merely strive to foster maturity...in the
human person. Rather, its principal aims are these: that as baptized
persons are gradually introduced into a knowledge of the mystery
of salvation, they may daily grow more conscious of the gift
of faith which they have received; that they may learn to adore
God the Father in spirit and in truth (cf. Jn. 4:23), especially
through liturgical worship; that they may be trained to conduct
their personal life in true righteousness and holiness, according
to their new nature (Eph. 4:22-24), and thus grow to maturity,
to the stature of the fullness of Christ (cf. Eph. 4:13), and
devote themselves to the upbuilding of the Mystical Body. Moreover,
aware of their calling, they should grow accustomed to giving
witness to the hope that is in them (cf. 1 Pt. 3:15), and to
promoting the Christian transformation of the world."(102) The Synod too, taking up and
developing the indications of the Council, presented the educational
mission of the Christian family as a true ministry through which
the Gospel is transmitted and radiated, so that family life itself
becomes an itinerary of faith and in some way a Christian initiation
and a school of following Christ. Within a family that is aware
of this gift, as Paul VI wrote, "all the members evangelize
and are evangelized."(103) By virtue of their ministry of
educating, parents are, through the witness of their lives, the
first heralds of the Gospel for their children. Furthermore,
by praying with their children, by reading the word of God with
them and by introducing them deeply through Christian initiation
into the Body of Christ-both the Eucharistic and the ecclesial
Body-they become fully parents, in that they are begetters not
only of bodily life but also of the life that through the Spirit's
renewal flows from the Cross and Resurrection of Christ. In order that Christian parents
may worthily carry out their ministry of educating, the Synod
Fathers expressed the hope that a suitable catechism for families
would be prepared, one that would be clear, brief and easily
assimilated by all. The Episcopal Conferences were warmly invited
to contribute to producing this catechism. Relations
with Other Educating Agents 40. The family is the primary
but not the only and exclusive educating community. Man's community
aspect itself-both civil and ecclesial-demands and leads to a
broader and more articulated activity resulting from well-ordered
collaboration between the various agents of education. All these
agents are necessary, even though each can and should play its
part in accordance with the special competence and contribution
proper to itself.(104) The educational role of the Christian
family therefore has a very important place in organic pastoral
work. This involves a new form of cooperation between parents
and Christian communities, and between the various educational
groups and pastors. In this sense, the renewal of the Catholic
school must give special attention both to the parents of the
pupils and to the formation of a perfect educating community. The right of parents to choose
an education in conformity with their religious faith must be
absolutely guaranteed. The State and the Church have
the obligation to give families all possible aid to enable them
to perform their educational role properly. Therefore both the
Church and the State must create and foster the institutions
and activities that families justly demand, and the aid must
be in proportion to the families' needs. However, those in society
who are in charge of schools must never forget that the parents
have been appointed by God Himself as the first and principal
educators of their children and that their right is completely
inalienable. But corresponding to their right,
parents have a serious duty to commit themselves totally to a
cordial and active relationship with the teachers and the school
authorities. If ideologics opposed to the
Christian faith are taught in the schools, the family must join
with other families, if possible through family associations,
and with all its strength and with wisdom help the young depart
from the faith. In this case the family needs special assistance
from pastors of souls, who must never forget that parents have
the inviolable right to entrust their children to the ecclesial
community. Manifold
Service to Life 41. Fruitful married love expresses
itself in serving life in many ways. Of these ways, begetting
and educating children are the most immediate, specific and irreplaceable.
In fact, every act of true love towards a human being bears witness
to and perfects the spiritual fecundity of the family, since
it is an act of obedience to the deep inner dynamism of love
as self-giving to others. For everyone this perspective
is full of value and commitment, and it can be an inspiration
in particular for couples who experience physical sterility. Christian families, recognizing
with faith all human beings as children of the same heavenly
Father, will respond generously to the children of other families,
giving them support and love not as outsiders but as members
of the one family of God's children. Christian parents will thus
be able to spread their love beyond the bonds of flesh and blood,
nourishing the links that are rooted in the spirit and that develop
through concrete service to the children of other families, who
are often without even the barest necessities. Christian families will be able
to show greater readiness to adopt and foster children who have
lost their parents or have been abandoned by them. Rediscovering
the warmth of affection of a family, these children will be able
to experience God's loving and provident fatherhood witnessed
to by Christian parents, and they will thus be able to grow up
with serenity and confidence in life. At the same time the whole
family will be enriched with the spiritual values of a wider
fraternity. Family fecundity must have an unceasing "creativity,"
a marvelous fruit of the Spirit of God, who opens the eyes of
the heart to discover the new needs and sufferings of our society
and gives courage for accepting them and responding to them.
A vast field of activity. lies open to families: today, even
more preoccupying than child abandonment is the phenomenon of
social and cultural exclusion, which seriously affects the elderly,
the sick, the disabled, drug addicts, ex-prisoners, etc. This broadens enormously the
horizons of the parenthood of Christian families: these and many
other urgent needs of our time are a challenge to their spiritually
fruitful love. With families and through them, the Lord Jesus
continues to "have compassion" on the multitudes. The
Family as the First and Vital Cell of Society 42. "Since the Creator of
all things has established the conjugal partnership as the beginning
and basis of human society," the family is "the first
and vital cell of society."(105) The family has vital and organic
links with society, since it is its foundation and nourishes
it continually through its role of service to life: it is from
the family that citizens come to birth and it is within the family
that they find the first school of the social virtues that are
the animating principle of the existence and development of society
itself. Thus, far from being closed in
on itself, the family is by nature and vocation open to other
families and to society, and undertakes its social role. Family
Life as an Experience of Communion and Sharing 43. The very experience of communion
and sharing that should characterize the family's daily life
represents its first and fundamental contribution to society. The relationships between the
members of the family community are inspired and guided by the
law of "free giving." By respecting and fostering personal
dignity in each and every one as the only basis for value, this
free giving takes the form of heartfelt acceptance, encounter
and dialogue, disinterested availability, generous service and
deep solidarity. Thus the fostering of authentic
and mature communion between persons within the family is the
first and irreplaceable school of social life, and example and
stimulus for the broader community relationships marked by respect,
justice, dialogue and love. The family is thus, as the Synod
Fathers recalled, the place of origin and the most effective
means for humanizing and personalizing society: it makes an original
contribution in depth to building up the world, by making possible
a life that is properly speaking human, in particular by guarding
and transmitting virtues and "values." As the Second
Vatican Council states, in the family "the various generations
come together and help one another to grow wiser and to harmonize
personal rights with the other requirements of social living."(106) Consequently, faced with a society
that is running the risk of becoming more and more depersonalized
and standardized and therefore inhuman and dehumanizing, with
the negative results of many forms of escapism-such as alcoholism,
drugs and even terrorism-the family possesses and continues still
to release formidable energies capable of taking man out of his
anonymity, keeping him conscious of his personal dignity, enriching
him with deep humanity and actively placing him, in his uniqueness
and unrepeatability, within the fabric of society. The
Social and Political Role 44. The social role of the family
certainly cannot stop short at procreation and education, even
if this constitutes its primary and irreplaceable form of expression. Families therefore, either singly
or in association, can and should devote themselves to manifold
social service activities, especially in favor of the poor, or
at any rate for the benefit of all people and situations that
cannot be reached by the public authorities' welfare organization. The social contribution of the
family has an original character of its own, one that should
be given greater recognition and more decisive encouragement,
especially as the children grow up, and actually involving all
its members as much as possible.(107) In particular, note must be taken
of the ever greater importance in our society of hospitality
in all its forms, from opening the door of one's home and still
more of one's heart to the pleas of one's brothers and sisters,
to concrete efforts to ensure that every family has its own home,
as the natural environment that preserves it and makes it grow.
In a special way the Christian family is called upon to listen
to the Apostle's recommendation: "Practice hospitality,"(108)
and therefore, imitating Christ's example and sharing in His
love, to welcome the brother or sister in need: "Whoever
gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because
he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he shall not lose his
reward."(109) The social role of families is
called upon to find expression also in the form of political
intervention: families should be the first to take steps to see
that the laws and institutions of the State not only do not offend
but support and positively defend the rights and duties of the
family. Along these lines, families should grow in awareness
of being "protagonists" of what is known as "family
politics" and assume responsibility for transforming society;
otherwise families will be the first victims of the evils that
they have done no more than note with indifference. The Second
Vatican Council's appeal to go beyond an individualistic ethic
therefore also holds good for the family as such."(110) Society
at the Service of the Family 45. Just as the intimate connection
between the family and society demands that the family be open
to and participate in society and its development, so also it
requires that society should never fail in its fundamental task
of respecting and fostering the family. The family and society have complementary
functions in defending and fostering the good of each and every
human being. But society-more specifically the State-must recognize
that "the family is a society in its own original right"(111)
and so society is under a grave obligation in its relations with
the family to adhere to the principle of subsidiarity. By virtue of this principle,
the State cannot and must not take away from families the functions
that they can just as well perform on their own or in free associations;
instead it must positively favor and encourage as far as possible
responsible initiative by families. In the conviction that the
good of the family is an indispensable and essential value of
the civil community, the public authorities must do everything
possible to ensure that families have all those aids- economic,
social, educational, political and cultural assistance-that they
need in order to face all their responsibilities in a human way. The
Charter of Family Rights 46. The ideal of mutual support
and development between the family and society is often very
seriously in conflict with the reality of their separation and
even opposition. In fact, as was repeatedly denounced
by the Synod, the situation experienced by many families in various
countries is highly problematical, if not entirely negative:
institutions and laws unjustly ignore the inviolable rights of
the family and of the human person; and society, far from putting
itself at the service of the family, attacks it violently in
its values and fundamental requirements. Thus the family, which
in God's plan is the basic cell of society and a subject of rights
and duties before the State or any other community, finds itself
the victim of society, of the delays and slowness with which
it acts, and even of its blatant injustice. For this reason, the Church openly
and strongly defends the rights of the family against the intolerable
usurpations of society and the State. In particular, the Synod
Fathers mentioned the following rights of the family: - the right to exist and progress
as a family, that is to say, the right of every human being,
even if he or she is poor, to found a family and to have adequate
means to support it; - the right to exercise its responsibility
regarding the transmission of life and to educate children; family
life; - the right to the intimacy of
conjugal and family life; - the right to the stability
of the bond and of the institution of marriage; - the right to believe in and
profess one's faith and to propagate it; - the right to bring up children
in accordance with the family's own traditions and religious
and cultural values, with the necessary instruments, means and
institutions; - the right, especially of the
poor and the sick, to obtain physical, social, political and
economic security; - the right to housing suitable
for living family life in a proper way; - the right to expression and
to representation, either directly or through associations, before
the economic, social and cultural public authorities and lower
authorities; - the right to form associations
with other families and institutions, in order to fulfill the
family's role suitably and expeditiously; - the right to protect minors
by adequate institutions and legislation from harmful drugs,
pornography, alcoholism, etc.; - the right to wholesome recreation
of a kind that also fosters family values; - the right of the elderly to
a worthy life and a worthy death; - the right to emigrate as a
family in search of a better life.(112) Acceding to the Synod's explicit
request, the Holy See will give prompt attention to studying
these suggestions in depth and to the preparation of a Charter
of Rights of the Family, to be presented to the quarters
and authorities concerned. The
Christian Family's Grace and Responsibility 47. The social role that belongs
to every family pertains by a new and original right to the Christian
family, which is based on the sacrament of marriage. By taking
up the human reality of the love between husband and wife in
all its implications, the sacrament gives to Christian couples
and parents a power and a commitment to live their vocation as
lay people and therefore to "seek the kingdom of God by
engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to
the plan of God."(113) The social and political role
is included in the kingly mission of service in which Christian
couples share by virtue of the sacrament of marriage, and they
receive both a command which they cannot ignore and a grace which
sustains and stimulates them. The Christian family is thus
called upon to offer everyone a witness of generous and disinterested
dedication to social matters, through a "preferential option"
for the poor and disadvantaged. Therefore, advancing in its following
of the Lord by special love for all the poor, it must have special
concern for the hungry, the poor, the old, the sick, drug victims
and those who have no family. For
a New International Order 48. In view of the worldwide
dimension of various social questions nowadays, the family has
seen its role with regard to the development of society extended
in a completely new way: it now also involves cooperating for
a new international order, since it is only in worldwide solidarity
that the enormous and dramatic issues of world justice, the freedom
of peoples and the peace of humanity can be dealt with and solved. The spiritual communion between
Christian families, rooted in a common faith and hope and given
life by love, constitutes an inner energy that generates, spreads
and develops justice, reconciliation, fraternity and peace among
human beings. Insofar as it is a "small- scale Church,"
the Christian family is called upon, like the "large- scale
Church," to be a sign of unity for the world and in this
way to exercise its prophetic role by bearing witness to the
Kingdom and peace of Christ, towards which the whole world is
journeying. Christian families can do this
through their educational activity-that is to say by presenting
to their children a model of life based on the values of truth,
freedom, justice and love-both through active and responsible
involvement in the authentically human growth of society and
its institutions, and by supporting in various ways the associations
specifically devoted to international issues. IV - SHARING IN THE LIFE AND MISSION OF THE CHURCH The
Family, Within the Mystery of the Church 49. Among the fundamental tasks
of the Christian family is its ecclesial task: the family is
placed at the service of the building up of the Kingdom of God
in history by participating in the life and mission of the Church. In order to understand better
the foundations, the contents and the characteristics of this
participation, we must examine the many profound bonds linking
the Church and the Christian family and establishing the family
as a "Church in miniature" (Ecclesia domestica),(114)
in such a way that in its own way the family is a living image
and historical representation of the mystery of the Church. It is, above all, the Church
as Mother that gives birth to, educates and builds up the Christian
family, by putting into effect in its regard the saving mission
which she has received from her Lord. By proclaiming the word
of God, the Church reveals to the Christian family its true identity,
what it is and should be according to the Lord's plan; by celebrating
the sacraments, the Church enriches and strengthens the Christian
family with the grace of Christ for its sanctification to the
glory of the Father; by the continuous proclamation of the new
commandment of love, the Church encourages and guides the Christian
family to the service of love, so that it may imitate and relive
the same self-giving and sacrificial love that the Lord Jesus
has for the entire human race. In turn, the Christian family
is grafted into the mystery of the Church to such a degree as
to become a sharer, in its own way, in the saving mission proper
to the Church: by virtue of the sacrament, Christian married
couples and parents "in their state and way of life have
their own special gift among the People of God."(115) For
this reason they not only receive the love of Christ and become
a saved community, but they are also called upon to communicate
Christ's love to their brethren, thus becoming a saving community.
In this way, while the Christian family is a fruit and sign of
the supernatural fecundity of the Church, it stands also as a
symbol, witness and participant of the Church's motherhood.(116) A
Specific and Original Ecclesial Role 50. The Christian family is called
upon to take part actively and responsibly in the mission of
the Church in a way that is original and specific, by placing
itself, in what it is and what it does as an "intimate community
of life and love," at the service of the Church and of society. Since the Christian family is
a community in which the relationships are renewed by Christ
through faith and the sacraments, the family's sharing in the
Church's mission should follow a community pattern: the spouses
together as a couple, the parents and children as a family, must
live their service to the Church and to the world. They must
be "of one heart and soul"(117) in faith, through the
shared apostolic zeal that animates them, and through their shared
commitment to works of service to the ecclesial and civil communities. The Christian family also builds
up the Kingdom of God in history through the everyday realities
that concern and distinguish its state of life. It is thus in
the love between husband and wife and between the members of
the family-a love lived out in all its extraordinary richness
of values and demands: totality, oneness, fidelity and fruitfulness(118)
that the Christian family's participation in the prophetic, priestly
and kingly mission of Jesus Christ and of His Church finds expression
and realization. Therefore, love and life constitute the nucleus
of the saving mission of the Christian family in the Church and
for the Church. The Second Vatican Council recalls
this fact when it writes: "Families will share their spiritual
riches generously with other families too. Thus the Christian
family, which springs from marriage as a reflection of the loving
covenant uniting Christ with the Church, and as a participation
in that covenant will manifest to all people the Savior's living
presence in the world, and the genuine nature of the Church.
This the family will do by the mutual love of the spouses, by
their generous fruitfulness, their solidarity and faithfulness,
and by the loving way in which all the members of the family
work together."(119) Having laid the foundation of
the participation of the Christian family in the Church's mission,
it is now time to illustrate its substance in reference to Jesus
Christ as Prophet, Priest and King- three aspects of a single
reality-by presenting the Christian family as 1) a believing
and evangelizing community, 2) a community in dialogue with God,
and 3) a community at the service of man. 1.
The Christian Family as a Believing and Evangelizing Community Faith
as the Discovery and Admiring Awareness of God's Plan for the
Family 51. As a sharer in the life and
mission of the Church, which listens to the word of God with
reverence and proclaims it confidently,(120) the Christian family
fulfills its prophetic role by welcoming and announcing the word
of God: it thus becomes more and more each day a believing and
evangelizing community. Christian spouses and parents
are required to offer "the obedience of faith."(121)
They are called upon to welcome the word of the Lord which reveals
to them the marvelous news-the Good News-of their conjugal and
family life sanctified and made a source of sanctity by Christ
Himself. Only in faith can they discover and admire with joyful
gratitude the dignity to which God has deigned to raise marriage
and the family, making them a sign and meeting place of the loving
covenant between God and man, between Jesus Christ and His bride,
the Church. The very preparation for Christian
marriage is itself a journey of faith. It is a special opportunity
for the engaged to rediscover and deepen the faith received in
Baptism and nourished by their Christian upbringing. In this
way they come to recognize and freely accept their vocation to
follow Christ and to serve the Kingdom of God in the married
state. The celebration of the sacrament
of marriage is the basic moment of the faith of the couple. This
sacrament, in essence, is the proclamation in the Church of the
Good News concerning married love. It is the word of God that
"reveals" and "fulfills" the wise and loving
plan of God for the married couple, giving them a mysterious
and real share in the very love with which God Himself loves
humanity. Since the sacramental celebration of marriage is itself
a proclamation of the word of God, it must also be a "profession
of faith" within and with the Church, as a community of
believers, on the part of all those who in different ways participate
in its celebration. This profession of faith demands
that it be prolonged in the life of the married couple and of
the family. God, who called the couple to marriage, continues
to call them in marriage.(122) In and through the events, problems,
difficulties and circumstances of everyday life, God comes to
them, revealing and presenting the concrete "demands"
of their sharing in the love of Christ for His Church in the
particular family, social and ecclesial situation in which they
find themselves. The discovery of and obedience
to the plan of God on the part of the conjugal and family community
must take place in "togetherness," through the human
experience of love between husband and wife, between parents
and children, lived in the Spirit of Christ. Thus the little domestic Church,
like the greater Church, needs to be constantly and intensely
evangelized: hence its duty regarding permanent education in
the faith. The
Christian Family's Ministry of Evangelization 52. To the extent in which the
Christian family accepts the Gospel and matures in faith, it
becomes an evangelizing community. Let us listen again to Paul
VI: "The family, like the Church, ought to be a place where
the Gospel is transmitted and from which the Gospel radiates.
In a family which is conscious of this mission, all the members
evangelize and are evangelized. The parents not only communicate
the Gospel to their children, but from their children they can
themselves receive the same Gospel as deeply lived by them. And
such a family becomes the evangelizer of many other families,
and of the neighborhood of which it forms part."(123) As the Synod repeated, taking
up the appeal which I launched at Puebla, the future of evangelization
depends in great part on the Church of the home.(124) This apostolic
mission of the family is rooted in Baptism and receives from
the grace of the sacrament of marriage new strength to transmit
the faith, to sanctify and transform our present society according
to God's plan. Particularly today, the Christian
family has a special vocation to witness to the paschal covenant
of Christ by constantly radiating the joy of love and the certainty
of the hope for which it must give an account: "The Christian
family loudly proclaims both the present virtues of the Kingdom
of God and the hope of a blessed life to come."(125) The absolute need for family
catechesis emerges with particular force in certain situations
that the Church unfortunately experiences in some places: "In
places where anti-religious legislation endeavors even to prevent
education in the faith, and in places where widespread unbelief
or invasive secularism makes real religious growth practically
impossible, 'the Church of the home' remains the one place where
children and young people can receive an authentic catechesis."(126) Ecclesial
Service 53. The ministry of evangelization
carried out by Christian parents is original and irreplaceable.
It assumes the characteristics typical of family life itself,
which should be interwoven with love, simplicity, practicality
and daily witness.(127) The family must educate the children
for life in such a way that each one may fully perform his or
her role according to the vocation received from God. Indeed,
the family that is open to transcendent values, that serves its
brothers and sisters with joy, that fulfills its duties with
generous fidelity, and is aware of its daily sharing in the mystery
of the glorious Cross of Christ, becomes the primary and most
excellent seed-bed of vocations to a life of consecration to
the Kingdom of God. The parents' ministry of evangelization
and catechesis ought to play a part in their children's lives
also during adolescence and youth, when the children, as often
happens, challenge or even reject the Christian faith received
in earlier years. Just as in the Church the work of evangelization
can never be separated from the sufferings of the apostle, so
in the Christian family parents must face with courage and great
interior serenity the difficulties that their ministry of evangelization
sometimes encounters in their own children. It should not be forgotten that
the service rendered by Christian spouses and parents to the
Gospel is essentially an ecclesial service. It has its place
within the context of the whole Church as an evangelized and
evangelizing community. In so far as the ministry of evangelization
and catechesis of the Church of the home is rooted in and derives
from the one mission of the Church and is ordained to the upbuilding
of the one Body of Christ,(128) it must remain in intimate communion
and collaborate responsibly with all the other evangelizing and
catechetical activities present and at work in the ecclesial
community at the diocesan and parochial levels. To
Preach the Gospel to the Whole Creation 54. Evangelization, urged on
within by irrepressible missionary zeal, is characterized by
a universality without boundaries. It is the response to Christ's
explicit and unequivocal command: "Go into all the world
and preach the Gospel to the whole creation."(129) The Christian family's faith
and evangelizing mission also possesses this catholic missionary
inspiration. The sacrament of marriage takes up and reproposes
the task of defending and spreading the faith, a task that has
its roots in Baptism and Confirmation,(130) and makes Christian
married couples and parents witnesses of Christ "to the
end of the earth,"(131) missionaries, in the true and proper
sense, of love and life. A form of missionary activity
can be exercised even within the family. This happens when some
member of the family does not have the faith or does not practice
it with consistency. In such a case the other members must give
him or her a living witness of their own faith in order to encourage
and support him or her along the path towards full acceptance
of Christ the Savior.(132) Animated in its own inner life
by missionary zeal, the Church of the home is also called to
be a luminous sign of the presence of Christ and of His love
for those who are "far away," for families who do not
yet believe, and for those Christian families who no longer live
in accordance with the faith that they once received. The Christian
family is called to enlighten "by its example and its witness...those
who seek the truth."(133) Just as at the dawn of Christianity
Aquila and Priscilla were presented as a missionary couple,(134)
so today the Church shows forth her perennial newness and fruitfulness
by the presence of Christian couples and families who dedicate
at least a part of their lives to working in missionary territories,
proclaiming the Gospel and doing service to their fellowman in
the love of Jesus Christ. Christian families offer a special
contribution to the missionary cause of the Church by fostering
missionary vocations among their sons and daughters(135) and,
more generally, "by training their children from childhood
to recognize God's love for all people."(136) 2.
The Christian Family as a Community in Dialogue with God The
Church's Sanctuary in the Home 55. The proclamation of the Gospel
and its acceptance in faith reach their fullness in the celebration
of the sacraments. The Church which is a believing and evangelizing
community is also a priestly people invested with the dignity
and sharing in the power of Christ the High Priest of the New
and Eternal Covenant.(137) The Christian family too is part
of this priestly people which is the Church. By means of the
sacrament of marriage, in which it is rooted and from which it
draws its nourishment, the Christian family is continuously vivified
by the Lord Jesus and called and engaged by Him in a dialogue
with God through the sacraments, through the offering of one's
life, and through prayer. This is the priestly role which
the Christian family can and ought to exercise in intimate communion
with the whole Church, through the daily realities of married
and family life. In this way the Christian family is called to
be sanctified and to sanctify the ecclesial community and the
world. Marriage
as a Sacrament of Mutual Sanctification and an Act of Worship 56. The sacrament of marriage
is the specific source and original means of sanctification for
Christian married couples and families. It takes up again and
makes specific the sanctifying grace of Baptism. By virtue of
the mystery of the death and Resurrection of Christ, of which
the spouses are made part in a new way by marriage, conjugal
love is purified and made holy: "This love the Lord has
judged worthy of special gifts, healing, perfecting and exalting
gifts of grace and of charity."(138) The gift of Jesus Christ is not
exhausted in the actual celebration of the sacrament of marriage,
but rather accompanies the married couple throughout their lives.
This fact is explicitly recalled by the Second Vatican Council
when it says that Jesus Christ "abides with them so that,
just as He loved the Church and handed Himself over on her behalf,
the spouses may love each other with perpetual fidelity through
mutual self-bestowal.... For this reason, Christian spouses have
a special sacrament by which they are fortified and receive a
kind of consecration in the duties and dignity of their state.
By virtue of this sacrament, as spouses fulfill their conjugal
and family obligations, they are penetrated with the Spirit of
Christ, who fills their whole lives with faith, hope and charity.
Thus they increasingly advance towards their own perfection,
as well as towards their mutual sanctification, and hence contribute
jointly to the glory of God."(139) Christian spouses and parents
are included in the universal call to sanctity. For them this
call is specified by the sacrament they have celebrated and is
carried out concretely in the realities proper to their conjugal
and family life.(140) This gives rise to the grace and requirement
of an authentic and profound conjugal and family spirituality
that draws its inspiration from the themes of creation, covenant,
cross, resurrection, and sign, which were stressed more than
once by the Synod. Christian marriage, like the
other sacraments, "whose purpose is to sanctify people,
to build up the body of Christ, and finally, to give worship
to God,"(141) is in itself a liturgical action glorifying
God in Jesus Christ and in the Church. By celebrating it, Christian
spouses profess their gratitude to God for the sublime gift bestowed
on them of being able to live in their married and family lives
the very love of God for people and that of the Lord Jesus for
the Church, His bride. Just as husbands and wives receive
from the sacrament the gift and responsibility of translating
into daily living the sanctification bestowed on them, so the
same sacrament confers on them the grace and moral obligation
of transforming their whole lives into a "spiritual sacrifice."(142)
What the Council says of the laity applies also to Christian
spouses and parents, especially with regard to the earthly and
temporal realities that characterize their lives: "As worshippers
leading holy lives in every place, the laity consecrate the world
itself to God."(143) Marriage
and the Eucharist 57. The Christian family's sanctifying
role is grounded in Baptism and has its highest expression in
the Eucharist, to which Christian marriage is intimately connected.
The Second Vatican Council drew attention to the unique relationship
between the Eucharist and marriage by requesting that "marriage
normally be celebrated within the Mass."(144) To understand
better and live more intensely the graces and responsibilities
of Christian marriage and family life, it is altogether necessary
to rediscover and strengthen this relationship. The Eucharist is the very source
of Christian marriage. The Eucharistic Sacrifice, in fact, represents
Christ's covenant of love with the Church, sealed with His blood
on the Cross.(145) In this sacrifice of the New and Eternal Covenant,
Christian spouses encounter the source from which their own marriage
covenant flows, is interiorly structured and continuously renewed.
As a representation of Christ's sacrifice of love for the Church,
the Eucharist is a fountain of charity. In the Eucharistic gift
of charity the Christian family finds the foundation and soul
of its "communion" and its "mission": by
partaking in the Eucharistic bread, the different members of
the Christian family become one body, which reveals and shares
in the wider unity of the Church. Their sharing in the Body of
Christ that is "given up" and in His Blood that is
"shed" becomes a never-ending source of missionary
and apostolic dynamism for the Christian family. The
Sacrament of Conversion and Reconciliation 58. An essential and permanent
part of the Christian family's sanctifying role consists in accepting
the call to conversion that the Gospel addresses to all Christians,
who do not always remain faithful to the "newness"
of the Baptism that constitutes them "saints." The
Christian family too is sometimes unfaithful to the law of baptismal
grace and holiness proclaimed anew in the sacrament of marriage. Repentance and mutual pardon
within the bosom of the Christian family, so much a part of daily
life, receive their specific sacramental expression in Christian
Penance. In the Encyclical Humanae vitae, Paul VI wrote
of married couples: "And if sin should still keep its hold
over them, let them not be discouraged, but rather have recourse
with humble perseverance to the mercy of God, which is abundantly
poured forth in the sacrament of Penance."(146) The celebration of this sacrament
acquires special significance for family life. While they discover
in faith that sin contradicts not only the covenant with God,
but also the covenant between husband and wife and the communion
of the family, the married couple and the other members of the
family are led to an encounter with God, who is "rich in
mercy,"(147) who bestows on them His love which is more
powerful than sin,(148) and who reconstructs and brings to perfection
the marriage covenant and the family communion. Family
Prayer 59. The Church prays for the
Christian family and educates the family to live in generous
accord with the priestly gift and role received from Christ the
High Priest. In effect, the baptismal priesthood of the faithful,
exercised in the sacrament of marriage, constitutes the basis
of a priestly vocation and mission for the spouses and family
by which their daily lives are transformed into "spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."(149)
This transformation is achieved not only by celebrating the Eucharist
and the other sacraments and through offering themselves to the
glory of God, but also through a life of prayer, through prayerful
dialogue with the Father, through Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit. Family prayer has its own characteristic
qualities. It is prayer offered in common, husband and wife together,
parents and children together. Communion in prayer is both a
consequence of and a requirement for the communion bestowed by
the sacraments of Baptism and Matrimony. The words with which
the Lord Jesus promises His presence can be applied to the members
of the Christian family in a special way: "Again I say to
you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it
will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or
three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them."(150) Family prayer has for its very
own object family life itself, which in all its varying circumstances
is seen as a call from God and lived as a filial response to
His call. Joys and sorrows, hopes and disappointments, births
and birthday celebrations, wedding anniversaries of the parents,
departures, separations and homecomings, important and far-reaching
decisions, the death of those who are dear, etc.-all of these
mark God's loving intervention in the family's history. They
should be seen as suitable moments for thanksgiving, for petition,
for trusting abandonment of the family into the hands of their
common Father in heaven. The dignity and responsibility of the
Christian family as the domestic Church can be achieved only
with God's unceasing aid, which will surely be granted if it
is humbly and trustingly petitioned in prayer. Educators
in Prayer 60. By reason of their dignity
and mission, Christian parents have the specific responsibility
of educating their children in prayer, introducing them to gradual
discovery of the mystery of God and to personal dialogue with
Him: "It is particularly in the Christian family, enriched
by the grace and the office of the sacrament of Matrimony, that
from the earliest years children should be taught, according
to the faith received in Baptism, to have a knowledge of God,
to worship Him and to love their neighbor."(151) The concrete example and living
witness of parents is fundamental and irreplaceable in educating
their children to pray. Only by praying together with their children
can a father and mother-exercising their royal priesthood-penetrate
the innermost depths of their children's hearts and leave an
impression that the future events in their lives will not be
able to efface. Let us again listen to the appeal made by Paul
VI to parents: "Mothers, do you teach your children the
Christian prayers? Do you prepare them, in conjunction with the
priests, for the sacraments that they receive when they are young:
Confession, Communion and Confirmation? Do you encourage them
when they are sick to think of Christ suffering to invoke the
aid of the Blessed Virgin and the saints Do you say the family
rosary together? And you, fathers, do you pray with your children,
with the whole domestic community, at least sometimes? Your example
of honesty in thought and action, joined to some common prayer,
is a lesson for life, an act of worship of singular value. In
this way you bring peace to your homes: Pax huic domui. Remember,
it is thus that you build up the Church."(152) Liturgical
Prayer and Private Prayer 61. There exists a deep and vital
bond between the prayer of the Church and the prayer of the individual
faithful, as has been clearly reaffirmed by the Second Vatican
Council.(153) An important purpose of the prayer of the domestic
Church is to serve as the natural introduction for the children
to the liturgical prayer of the whole Church, both in the sense
of preparing for it and of extending it into personal, family
and social life. Hence the need for gradual participation by
all the members of the Christian family in the celebration of
the Eucharist, especially on Sundays and feast days, and of the
other sacraments, particularly the sacraments of Christian initiation
of the children. The directives of the Council opened up a new
possibility for the Christian family when it listed the family
among those groups to whom it recommends the recitation of the
Divine Office in common.(154) Likewise, the Christian family
will strive to celebrate at home, and in a way suited to the
members, the times and feasts of the liturgical year. As preparation for the worship
celebrated in church, and as its prolongation in the home, the
Christian family makes use of private prayer, which presents
a great variety of forms. While this variety testifies to the
extraordinary richness with which the Spirit vivifies Christian
prayer, it serves also to meet the various needs and life situations
of those who turn to the Lord in prayer. Apart from morning and
evening prayers, certain forms of prayer are to be expressly
encouraged, following the indications of the Synod Fathers, such
as reading and meditating on the word of God, preparation for
the reception of the sacraments, devotion and consecration to
the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the various forms of veneration of
the Blessed Virgin Mary, grace before and after meals, and observance
of popular devotions. While respecting the freedom
of the children of God, the Church has always proposed certain
practices of piety to the faithful with particular solicitude
and insistence. Among these should be mentioned the recitation
of the rosary: "We now desire, as a continuation of the
thought of our predecessors, to recommend strongly the recitation
of the family rosary.... There is no doubt that... the rosary
should be considered as one of the best and most efficacious
prayers in common that the Christian family is invited to recite.
We like to think, and sincerely hope, that when the family gathering
becomes a time of prayer the rosary is a frequent and favored
manner of praying."(155) In this way authentic devotion
to Mary, which finds expression in sincere love and generous
imitation of the Blessed Virgin's interior spiritual attitude,
constitutes a special instrument for nourishing loving communion
in the family and for developing conjugal and family spirituality.
For she who is the Mother of Christ and of the Church is in a
special way the Mother of Christian families, of domestic Churches. Prayer
and Life 62. It should never be forgotten
that prayer constitutes an essential part of Christian life,
understood in its fullness and centrality. Indeed, prayer is
an important part of our very humanity: it is "the first
expression of man's inner truth, the first condition for authentic
freedom of spirit."(156) Far from being a form of escapism
from everyday commitments, prayer constitutes the strongest incentive
for the Christian family to assume and comply fully with all
its responsibilities as the primary and fundamental cell of human
society. Thus the Christian family's actual participation in
the Church's life and mission is in direct proportion to the
fidelity and intensity of the prayer with which it is united
with the fruitful vine that is Christ the Lord.(157) The fruitfulness of the Christian
family in its specific service to human advancement, which of
itself cannot but lead to the transformation of the world, derives
from its living union with Christ, nourished by Liturgy, by self-oblation
and by prayer.(158) 3.
The Christian Family The
New Commandment of Love 63. The Church, a prophetic,
priestly and kingly people, is endowed with the mission of bringing
all human beings to accept the word of God in faith, to celebrate
and profess it in the sacraments and in prayer, and to give expression
to it in the concrete realities of life in accordance with the
gift and new commandment of love. The law of Christian life is
to be found not in a written code, but in the personal action
of the Holy Spirit who inspires and guides the Christian. It
is the "law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus"(159)
"God's love has been poured into our hearts through the
Holy Spirit who has been given to us."(160) This is true also for the Christian
couple and family. Their guide and rule of life is the Spirit
of Jesus poured into their hearts in the celebration of the sacrament
of Matrimony. In continuity with Baptism in water and the Spirit,
marriage sets forth anew the evangelical law of love, and with
the gift of the Spirit engraves it more profoundly on the hearts
of Christian husbands and wives. Their love, purified and saved,
is a fruit of the Spirit acting in the hearts of believers and
constituting, at the same time, the fundamental commandment of
their moral life to be lived in responsible freedom. Thus, the Christian family is
inspired and guide by the new law of the Spirit and, in intimate
communion with the Church, the kingly people, it is called to
exercise its "service" of love towards God and towards
its fellow human beings. Just as Christ exercises His royal power
by serving us,(161) so also the Christian finds the authentic
meaning of his participation in the kingship of his Lord in sharing
His spirit and practice of service to man. "Christ has communicated
this power to his disciples that they might be established in
royal freedom and that by self-denial and a holy life they might
conquer the reign of sin in themselves (cf. Rom. 6:12). Further,
He has shared this power so that by serving Him in their fellow
human beings they might through humility and patience lead their
brothers and sisters to that King whom to serve is to reign.
For the Lord wishes to spread His kingdom by means of the laity
also, a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and
grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace. In this kingdom,
creation itself will be delivered out of its slavery to corruption
and into the freedom of the glory of the children of God (cf.
Rom. 8:21). "(162) To
Discover the Image of God in Each Brother and Sister 64. Inspired and sustained by
the new commandment of love, the Christian family welcomes, respects
and serves every human being, considering each one in his or
her dignity as a person and as a child of God. It should be so especially between
husband and wife and within the family, through a daily effort
to promote a truly personal community, initiated and fostered
by an inner communion of love. This way of life should then be
extended to the wider circle of the ecclesial community of which
the Christian family is a part. Thanks to love within the family,
the Church can and ought to take on a more homelike or family
dimension, developing a more human and fraternal style of relationships. Love, too, goes beyond our brothers
and sisters of the same faith since "everybody is my brother
or sister." In each individual, especially in the poor,
the weak, and those who suffer or are unjustly treated, love
knows how to discover the face of Christ, and discover a fellow
human being to be loved and served. In order that the family may
serve man in a truly evangelical way, the instructions of the
Second Vatican Council must be carefully put into practice: "That
the exercise of such charity may rise above any deficiencies
in fact and even in appearance, certain fundamentals must be
observed. Thus, attention is to be paid to the image of God in
which our neighbor has been created, and also to Christ the Lord
to whom is really offered whatever is given to a needy person."(163) While building up the Church
in love, the Christian family places itself at the service of
the human person and the world, really bringing about the "human
advancement" whose substance was given in summary form in
the Synod's Message to families: "Another task for the family
is to form persons in love and also to practice love in all its
relationships, so that it does not live closed in on itself,
but remains open to the community, moved by a sense of justice
and concern for others, as well as by a consciousness of its
responsibility towards the whole of society."(164) PASTORAL
CARE OF THE FAMILY: STAGES, STRUCTURES, AGENTS AND SITUATIONS I - STAGES OF PASTORAL CARE
OF THE FAMILY The
Church Accompanies the Christian Family on Its Journey Through
Life 65. Like every other living reality,
the family too is called upon to develop and grow. After the
preparation of engagement and the sacramental celebration of
marriage, the couple begin their daily journey towards the progressive
actuation of the values and duties of marriage itself. In the light of faith and by
virtue of hope, the Christian family too shares, in communion
with the Church, in the experience of the earthly pilgrimage
towards the full revelation and manifestation of the Kingdom
of God. Therefore, it must be emphasized
once more that the pastoral intervention of the Church in support
of the family is a matter of urgency. Every effort should be
made to strengthen and develop pastoral care for the family,
which should be treated as a real matter of priority, in the
certainty that future evangelization depends largely on the domestic
Church."(165) The Church's pastoral concern
will not be limited only to the Christian families closest at
hand; it will extend its horizons in harmony with the Heart of
Christ, and will show itself to be even more lively for families
in general and for those families in particular which are in
difficult or irregular situations. For all of them the Church
will have a word of truth, goodness, understanding, hope and
deep sympathy with their sometimes tragic difficulties. To all
of them she will offer her disinterested help so that they can
come closer to that model of a family which the Creator intended
from "the beginning" and which Christ has renewed with
His redeeming grace. The Church's pastoral action
must be progressive, also in the sense that it must follow the
family, accompanying it step by step in the different stages
of its formation and development. Preparation
for Marriage 66. More than ever necessary
in our times is preparation of young people for marriage and
family life. In some countries it is still the families themselves
that, according to ancient customs, ensure the passing on to
young people of the values concerning married and family life,
and they do this through a gradual process of education or initiation.
But the changes that have taken place within almost all modern
societies demand that not only the family but also society and
the Church should be involved in the effort of properly preparing
young people for their future responsibilities. Many negative
phenomena which are today noted with regret in family life derive
from the fact that, in the new situations, young people not only
lose sight of the correct hierarchy of values but, since they
no longer have certain criteria of behavior, they do not know
how to face and deal with the new difficulties. But experience
teaches that young people who have been well prepared for family
life generally succeed better than others. This is even more applicable
to Christian marriage, which influences the holiness of large
numbers of men and women. The Church must therefore promote better
and more intensive programs of marriage preparation, in order
to eliminate as far as possible the difficulties that many married
couples find themselves in, and even more in order to favor positively
the establishing and maturing of successful marriages. Marriage preparation has to be
seen and put into practice as a gradual and continuous process.
It includes three main stages: remote, proximate and immediate
preparation. Remote preparation begins in
early childhood, in that wise family training which leads children
to discover themselves as being endowed with a rich and complex
psychology and with a particular personality with its own strengths
and weaknesses. It is the period when esteem for all authentic
human values is instilled, both in interpersonal and in social
relationships, with all that this signifies for the formation
of character, for the control and right use of one's inclinations,
for the manner of regarding and meeting people of the opposite
sex, and so on. Also necessary, especially for Christians, is
solid spiritual and catechetical formation that will show that
marriage is a true vocation and mission, without excluding the
possibility of the total gift of self to God in the vocation
to the priestly or religious life. Upon this basis there will subsequently
and gradually be built up the proximate preparation, which-from
the suitable age and with adequate catechesis, as in a catechumenal
process-involves a more specific preparation for the sacraments,
as it were, a rediscovery of them. This renewed catechesis of
young people and others preparing for Christian marriage is absolutely
necessary in order that the sacrament may be celebrated and lived
with the right moral and spiritual dispositions. The religious
formation of young people should be integrated, at the right
moment and in accordance with the various concrete requirements,
with a preparation for life as a couple. This preparation will
present marriage as an interpersonal relationship of a man and
a woman that has to be continually developed, and it will encourage
those concerned to study the nature of conjugal sexuality and
responsible parenthood, with the essential medical and biological
knowledge connected with it. It will also acquaint those concerned
with correct methods for the education of children, and will
assist them in gaining the basic requisites for well-ordered
family life, such as stable work, sufficient financial resources,
sensible administration, notions of housekeeping. Finally, one must not overlook
preparation for the family apostolate, for fraternal solidarity
and collaboration with other families, for active membership
in groups, associations, movements and undertakings set up for
the human and Christian benefit of the family. The immediate preparation for
the celebration of the sacrament of Matrimony should take place
in the months and weeks immediately preceding the wedding, so
as to give a new meaning, content and form to the so-called premarital
enquiry required by Canon Law. This preparation is not only necessary
in every case, but is also more urgently needed for engaged couples
that still manifest shortcomings or difficulties in Christian
doctrine and practice. Among the elements to be instilled
in this journey of faith, which is similar to the catechumenate,
there must also be a deeper knowledge of the mystery of Christ
and the Church, of the meaning of grace and of the responsibility
of Christian marriage, as well as preparation for taking an active
and conscious part in the rites of the marriage liturgy. The Christian family and the
whole of the ecclesial community should feel involved in the
different phases of the preparation for marriage, which have
been described only in their broad outlines. It is to be hoped
that the Episcopal Conferences, just as they are concerned with
appropriate initiatives to help engaged couples to be more aware
of the seriousness of their choice and also to help pastors of
souls to make sure of the couples' proper dispositions, so they
will also take steps to see that there is issued a Directory
for the Pastoral Care of the Family. In this they should lay
down, in the first place, the minimum content, duration and method
of the "Preparation Courses," balancing the different
aspects-doctrinal, pedagogical, legal and medical-concerning
marriage, and structuring them in such a way that those preparing
for marriage will not only receive an intellectual training but
will also feel a desire to enter actively into the ecclesial
community. Although one must not underestimate
the necessity and obligation of the immediate preparation for
marriage-which would happen if dispensations from it were easily
given-nevertheless such preparation must always be set forth
and put into practice in such a way that omitting it is not an
impediment to the celebration of marriage. The
Celebration 67. Christian marriage normally
requires a liturgical celebration expressing in social and community
form the essentially ecclesial and sacramental nature of the
conjugal covenant between baptized persons. Inasmuch as it is a sacramental action of sanctification, the celebration of marriage-inserted into the liturgy, which is the summit of the Church's action and the source of her sanctifying power(166) must be per se valid, worthy and fruitful. This opens a wide field for pastoral solicitude, in order that the needs deriving from the nature of the conjugal convenant, elevated into a sacrament, may be fully met, and also in order that the Church's discipline regarding free consent, impediments, the canonical form and the actual rite of the celebration may be faithfully observed. The celebration should be simple and dignified, according to the norms of the competent authorities of the Church. It is also for them-in accordance with concrete circumstances of time and place and in conformity with the norms issued by the Apostolic See(167)-to include in the liturgical celebration such elements proper to each culture which serve to express more clearly the profound human and religious significance of the marriage contract, provided that such elements contain nothing that is not in harmony with Christian faith and morality. Inasmuch as it is a sign, the
liturgical celebration should be conducted in such a way as to
constitute, also in its external reality, a proclamation of the
word of God and a profession of faith on the part of the community
of believers. Pastoral commitment will be expressed here through
the intelligent and careful preparation of the Liturgy of the
Word and through the education to faith of those participating
in the celebration and in the first place the couple being married. Inasmuch as it is a sacramental
action of the Church, the liturgical celebration of marriage
should involve the Christian community, with the full, active
and responsible participation of all those present, according
to the place and task of each individual: the bride and bridegroom,
the priest, the witnesses, the relatives, the friends, the other
members of the faithful, all of them members of an assembly that
manifests and lives the mystery of Christ and His Church. For
the celebration of Christian marriage in the sphere of ancestral
cultures or traditions, the principles laid down above should
be followed. Celebration
of Marriage and Evangelization of Non-believing Baptized Persons 68. Precisely because in the
celebration of the sacrament very special attention must be devoted
to the moral and spiritual dispositions of those being married,
in particular to their faith, we must here deal with a not infrequent
difficulty in which the pastors of the Church can find themselves
in the context of our secularized society. In fact, the faith of the person
asking the Church for marriage can exist in different degrees,
and it is the primary duty of pastors to bring about a rediscovery
of this faith and to nourish it and bring it to maturity. But
pastors must also understand the reasons that lead the Church
also to admit to the celebration of marriage those who are imperfectly
disposed. The sacrament of Matrimony has
this specific element that distinguishes it from all the other
sacraments: it is the sacrament of something that was part of
the very economy of creation; it is the very conjugal covenant
instituted by the Creator "in the beginning." Therefore
the decision of a man and a woman to marry in accordance with
this divine plan, that is to say, the decision to commit by their
irrevocable conjugal consent their whole lives in indissoluble
love and unconditional fidelity, really involves, even if not
in a fully conscious way, an attitude of profound obedience to
the will of God, an attitude which cannot exist without God's
grace. They have thus already begun what is in a true and proper
sense a journey towards salvation, a journey which the celebration
of the sacrament and the immediate preparation for it can complement
and bring to completion, given the uprightness of their intention. On the other hand it is true
that in some places engaged couples ask to be married in church
for motives which are social rather than genuinely religious.
This is not surprising. Marriage, in fact, is not an event that
concerns only the persons actually getting married. By its very
nature it is also a social matter, committing the couple being
married in the eyes of society. And its celebration has always
been an occasion of rejoicing that brings together families and
friends. It therefore goes without saying that social as well
as personal motives enter into the request to be married in church. Nevertheless, it must not be
forgotten that these engaged couples, by virtue of their Baptism,
are already really sharers in Christ's marriage Covenant with
the Church, and that, by their right intention, they have accepted
God's plan regarding marriage and therefore at least implicitly
consent to what the Church intends to do when she celebrates
marriage. Thus, the fact that motives of a social nature also
enter into the request is not enough to justify refusal on the
part of pastors. Moreover, as the Second Vatican Council teaches,
the sacraments by words and ritual elements nourish and strengthen
faith"(171): that faith towards which the married couple
are already journeying by reason of the uprightness of their
intention, which Christ's grace certainly does not fail to favor
and support. As for wishing to lay down further
criteria for admission to the ecclesial celebration of marriage,
criteria that would concern the level of faith of those to be
married, this would above all involve grave risks. In the first
place, the risk of making unfounded and discriminatory judgments;
secondly, the risk of causing doubts about the validity of marriages
already celebrated, with grave harm to Christian communities,
and new and unjustified anxieties to the consciences of married
couples; one would also fall into the danger of calling into
question the sacramental nature of many marriages of brethren
separated from full communion with the Catholic Church, thus
contradicting ecclesial tradition. However, when in spite of all
efforts, engaged couples show that they reject explicitly and
formally what the Church intends to do when the marriage of baptized
persons is celebrated, the pastor of souls cannot admit them
to the celebration of marriage. In spite of his reluctance to
do so, he has the duty to take note of the situation and to make
it clear to those concerned that, in these circumstances, it
is not the Church that is placing an obstacle in the way of the
celebration that they are asking for, but themselves. Once more there appears in all
its urgency the need for evangelization and catechesis before
and after marriage, effected by the whole Christian-community,
so that every man and woman that gets married celebrates the
sacrament of Matrimony not only validly but also fruitfully. Pastoral
Care After Marriage 69. The pastoral care of the
regularly established family signifies, in practice, the commitment
of all the members of the local ecclesial community to helping
the couple to discover and live their new vocation and mission.
In order that the family may be ever more a true community of
love, it is necessary that all its members should be helped and
trained in their responsibilities as they face the new problems
that arise, in mutual service, and in active sharing in family
life. This holds true especially for
young families, which, finding themselves in a context of new
values and responsibilities, are more vulnerable, especially
in the first years of marriage, to possible difficulties, such
as those created by adaptation to life together or by the birth
of children. Young married couples should learn to accept willingly,
and make good use of, the discreet, tactful and generous help
offered by other couples that already have more experience of
married and family life. Thus, within the ecclesial community-the
great family made up of Christian families-there will take place
a mutual exchange of presence and help among all the families,
each one putting at the service of others its own experience
of life, as well as the gifts of faith and grace. Animated by
a true apostolic spirit, this assistance from family to family
will constitute one of the simplest, most effective and most
accessible means for transmitting from one to another those Christian
values which are both the starting point and goal of all pastoral
care. Thus young families will not limit themselves merely to
receiving, but in their turn, having been helped in this way,
will become a source of enrichment for other longer established
families, through their witness of life and practical contribution. In her pastoral care of young
families, the Church must also pay special attention to helping
them to live married love responsibly in relationship with its
demands of communion and service to life. She must likewise help
them to harmonize the intimacy of home life with the generous
shared work of building up the Church and society. When children
are born and the married couple becomes a family in the full
and specific sense, the Church will still remain close to the
parents in order that they may accept their children and love
them as a gift received from the Lord of life, and joyfully accept
the task of serving them in their human and Christian growth. II
- STRUCTURES OF FAMILY PASTORAL CARE Pastoral activity is always the
dynamic expression of the reality of the Church, committed to
her mission of salvation. Family pastoral care too-which is a
particular and specific form of pastoral activity- has as its
operative principle and responsible agent the Church herself,
through her structures and workers. The
Ecclesial Community and in Particular the Parish 70. The Church, which is at the
same time a saved and a saving community, has to be considered
here under two aspects: as universal and particular. The second
aspect is expressed and actuated in the diocesan community, which
is pastorally divided up into lesser communities, of which the
parish is of special importance. Communion with the universal
Church does not hinder but rather guarantees and promotes the
substance and originality of the various particular Churches.
These latter remain the more immediate and more effective subjects
of operation for putting the pastoral care of the family into
practice. In this sense every local Church and, in more particular
terms, every parochial community, must become more vividly aware
of the grace and responsibility that it receives from the Lord
in order that it may promote the pastoral care of the family.
No plan for organized pastoral work, at any level, must ever
fail to take into consideration the pastoral care of the family. Also to be seen in the light
of this responsibility is the importance of the proper preparation
of all those who will be more specifically engaged in this kind
of apostolate. Priests and men and women religious, from the
time of their formation, should be oriented and trained progressively
and thoroughly for the various tasks. Among the various initiatives
I am pleased to emphasize the recent establishment in Rome, at
the Pontifical Lateran University, of a Higher Institute for
the study of the problems of the family. Institutes of this kind
have also been set up in some dioceses. Bishops should see to
it that as many priests as possible attend specialized courses
there before taking on parish responsibilities. Elsewhere, formation
courses are periodically held at Higher Institutes of theological
and pastoral studies. Such initiatives should be encouraged,
sustained, increased in number, and of course are also open to
lay people who intend to use their professional skills (medical,
legal, psychological, social or educational) to help the family. The
Family 71. But it is especially necessary
to recognize the unique place that, in this field, belongs to
the mission of married couples and Christian families, by virtue
of the grace received in the sacrament. This mission must be
placed at the service of the building up of the Church, the establishing
of the Kingdom of God in history. This is demanded as an act
of docile obedience to Christ the Lord. For it is He who, by
virtue of the fact that marriage of baptized persons has been
raised to a sacrament, confers upon Christian married couples
a special mission as apostles, sending them as workers into His
vineyard, and, in a very special way, into this field of the
family. In this activity, married couples
act in communion and collaboration with the other members of
the Church, who also work for the family, contributing their
own gifts and ministries. This apostolate will be exercised in
the first place within the families of those concerned, through
the witness of a life lived in conformity with the divine law
in all its aspects, through the Christian formation of the children,
through helping them to mature in faith, through education to
chastity, through preparation for life, through vigilance in
protecting them from the ideological and moral dangers with which
they are often threatened, through their gradual and responsible
inclusion in the ecclesial community and the civil community,
through help and advice in choosing a vocation, through mutual
help among family members for human and Christian growth together,
and so on. The apostolate of the family will also become wider
through works of spiritual and material charity towards other
families, especially those most in need of help and support,
towards the poor, the sick, the old, the handicapped, orphans,
widows, spouses that have been abandoned, unmarried mothers and
mothers-to-be in difficult situations who are tempted to have
recourse to abortion, and so on. Associations
of Families for Families 72. Still within the Church,
which is the subject responsible for the pastoral care of the
family, mention should be made of the various groupings of members
of the faithful in which the mystery of Christ's Church is in
some measure manifested and lived. One should therefore recognize
and make good use of-each one in relationship to its own characteristics,
purposes effectiveness and methods-the different ecclesial communities,
the various groups and the numerous movements engaged in various
ways, for different reasons and at different levels, in the pastoral
care of the family. For this reason the Synod expressly
recognized the useful contribution made by such associations
of spirituality, formation and apostolate. It will be their task
to foster among the faithful a lively sense of solidarity, to
favor a manner of living inspired by the Gospel and by the faith
of the Church, to form consciences according to Christian values
and not according to the standards of public opinion; to stimulate
people to perform works of charity for one another and for others
with a spirit of openness which will make Christian families
into a true source of light and a wholesome leaven for other
families. It is similarly desirable that,
with a lively sense of the common good, Christian families should
become actively engaged, at every level, in other non-ecclesial
associations as well. Some of these associations work for the
preservation, transmission and protection of the wholesome ethical
and cultural values of each people, the development of the human
person, the medical, juridical and social protection of mothers
and young children, the just advancement of women and the struggle
against all that is detrimental to their dignity, the increase
of mutual solidarity, knowledge of the problems connected with
the responsible regulation of fertility in accordance with natural
methods that are in conformity with human dignity and the teaching
of the Church. Other associations work for the building of a
more just and human world; for the promotion of just laws favoring
the right social order with full respect for the dignity and
every legitimate freedom of the individual and the family, on
both the national and international level; for collaboration
with the school and with the other institutions that complete
the education of children, and so forth. III
- AGENTS OF THE PASTORAL CARE OF THE FAMILY As well as the family, which
is the object but above all the subject of pastoral care of the
family, one must also mention the other main agents in this particular
sector. Bishops
and Priests 73. The person principally responsible
in the diocese for the pastoral care of the family is the Bishop.
As father and pastor, he must exercise particular solicitude
in this clearly priority sector of pastoral care. He must devote
to it personal interest, care, time, personnel and resources,
but above all personal support for the families and for all those
who, in the various diocesan structures, assist him in the pastoral
care of the family. It will be his particular care to make the
diocese ever more truly a "diocesan family," a model
and source of hope for the many families that belong to it. The
setting up of the Pontifical Council for the Family is to be
seen in this light: to be a sign of the importance that I attribute
to pastoral care for the family in the world, and at the same
time to be an effective instrument for aiding and promoting it
at every level. The Bishops avail themselves
especially of the priests, whose task-as the Synod expressly
emphasized-constitutes an essential part of the Church's ministry
regarding marriage and the family. The same is true of deacons
to whose care this sector of pastoral work may be entrusted. Their responsibility extends
not only to moral and liturgical matters but to personal and
social matters as well. They must support the family in its difficulties
and sufferings, caring for its members and helping them to see
their lives in the light of the Gospel. It is not superfluous
to note that from this mission, if it is exercised with due discernment
and with a truly apostolic spirit, the minister of the Church
draws fresh encouragement and spiritual energy for his own vocation
too and for the exercise of his ministry. Priests and deacons, when they
have received timely and serious preparation for this apostolate,
must unceasingly act towards families as fathers, brothers, pastors
and teachers, assisting them with the means of grace and enlightening
them with the light of truth. Their teaching and advice must
therefore always be in full harmony with the authentic Magisterium
of the Church, in such a way as to help the People of God to
gain a correct sense of the faith, to be subsequently applied
to practical life. Such fidelity to the Magisterium will also
enable priests to make every effort to be united in their judgments,
in order to avoid troubling the consciences of the faithful. In the Church, the pastors and
the laity share in the prophetic mission of Christ: the laity
do so by witnessing to the faith by their words and by their
Christian lives; the pastors do so by distinguishing in that
witness what is the expression of genuine faith from what is
less in harmony with the light of faith; the family, as a Christian
community, does so through its special sharing and witness of
faith. Thus there begins a dialogue also between pastors and
families. Theologians and experts in family matters can be of
great help in this dialogue, by explaining exactly the content
of the Church's Magisterium and the content of the experience
of family life. In this way the teaching of the Magisterium becomes
better understood and the way is opened to its progressive development.
But it is useful to recall that the proximate and obligatory
norm in the teaching of the faith-also concerning family matters-belongs
to the hierarchical Magisterium. Clearly defined relationships
between theologians, experts in family matters and the Magisterium
are of no little assistance for the correct understanding of
the faith and for promoting-within the boundaries of the faith-legitimate
pluralism. Men
and Women Religious 74. The contribution that can
be made to the apostolate of the family by men and women religious
and consecrated persons in general finds its primary, fundamental
and original expression precisely in their consecration to God.
By reason of this consecration, "for all Christ's faithful
religious recall that wonderful marriage made by God, which will
be fully manifested in the future age, and in which the Church
has Christ for her only spouse,"(175) and they are witnesses
to that universal charity which, through chastity embraced for
the Kingdom of heaven, makes them ever more available to dedicate
themselves generously to the service of God and to the works
of the apostolate. Hence the possibility for men
and women religious, and members of Secular Institutes and other
institutes of perfection, either individually or in groups, to
develop their service to families, with particular solicitude
for children, especially if they are abandoned, unwanted, orphaned,
poor or handicapped. They can also visit families and look after
the sick; they can foster relationships of respect and charity
towards one-parent families or families that are in difficulties
or are separated; they can offer their own work of teaching and
counseling in the preparation of young people for marriage, and
in helping couples towards truly responsible parenthood; they
can open their own houses for simple and cordial hospitality,
so that families can find there the sense of God's presence and
gain a taste for prayer and recollection, and see the practical
examples of lives lived in charity and fraternal joy as members
of the larger family of God. I would like to add a most pressing
exhortation to the heads of institutes of consecrated life to
consider-always with substantial respect for the proper and original
charism of each one-the apostolate of the family as one of the
priority tasks, rendered even more urgent by the present state
of the world. Lay
Specialists 75. Considerable help can be
given to families by lay specialists (doctors, lawyers, psychologists,
social workers, consultants, etc.) who either as individuals
or as members of various associations and undertakings offer
their contribution of enlightenment, advice, orientation and
support. To these people one can well apply the exhortations
that I had the occasion to address to the Confederation of Family
Advisory Bureaus of Christian Inspiration: "Yours is a commitment
that well deserves the title of mission, so noble are the aims
that it pursues, and so determining, for the good of society
and the Christian community itself, are the results that derive
from it.... All that you succeed in doing to support the family
is destined to have an effectiveness that goes beyond its own
sphere and reaches other people too and has an effect on society
The future of the world and of the Church passes through the
family."(170) Recipients
and Agents of Social Communications 76. This very important category
in modern life deserves a word of its own. It is well known that
the means of social communication "affect, and often profoundly,
the minds of those who use them, under the affective and intellectual
aspect and also under the moral and religious aspect," especially
in the case of young people.(171) They can thus exercise a beneficial
influence on the life and habits of the family and on the education
of children, but at the same time they also conceal "snares
and dangers that cannot be ignored."(172) They could also
become a vehicle-sometimes cleverly and systematically manipulated,
as unfortunately happens in various countries of the world-for
divisive ideologies and distorted ways of looking at life, the
family, religion and morality, attitudes that lack respect for
man's true dignity and destiny. This danger is all the more real
inasmuch as "the modern life style- especially in the more
industrialized nations-all too often causes families to abandon
their responsibility to educate their children. Evasion of this
duty is made easy for them by the presence of television and
certain publications in the home, and in this way they keep their
children's time and energies occupied."(173) Hence "the
duty. . .to protect the young from the forms of aggression they
are subjected to by the mass media," and to ensure that
the use of the media in the family is carefully regulated. Families
should also take care to seek for their children other forms
of entertainment that are more wholesome, useful and physically,
morally and spiritually formative, "to develop and use to
advantage the free time of the young and direct their energies."(174) Furthermore, because the means
of social communication, like the school and the environment,
often have a notable influence on the formation of children,
parents as recipients must actively ensure the moderate, critical,
watchful and prudent use of the media, by discovering what effect
they have on their children and by controlling the use of the
media in such a way as to "train the conscience of their
children to express calm and objective judgments, which will
then guide them in the choice or rejection of programs available
. With equal commitment parents
will endeavor to influence the selection and the preparation
of the programs themselves, by keeping in contact-through suitable
initiatives-with those in charge of the various phases of production
and transmission. In this way they will ensure that the fundamental
human values that form part of the true good of society are not
ignored or deliberately attacked. Rather they will ensure the
broadcasting of programs that present in the right light family
problems and their proper solution. In this regard my venerated
predecessor Paul VI wrote: "Producers must know and respect
the needs of the family, and this sometimes presupposes in them
true courage, and always a high sense of responsibility. In fact
they are expected to avoid anything that could harm the family
in its existence, its stability, its balance and its happiness.
Every attack on the fundamental value of the family-meaning eroticism
or violence, the defense of divorce or of antisocial attitudes
among young people-is an attack on the true good of man."(176) I myself, on a similar occasion,
pointed out that families "to a considerable extent need
to be able to count on the good will, integrity and sense of
responsibility of the media professionals- publishers writers,
producers, directors, playwrights, newsmen, commentators and
actors."(177) It is therefore also the duty of the Church
to continue to devote every care to these categories, at the
same time encouraging and supporting Catholics who feel the call
and have the necessary talents, to take up this sensitive type
of work. IV
- PASTORAL CARE OF THE FAMILY IN DIFFICULT CASES Particular
Circumstances 77. An even more generous, intelligent
and prudent pastoral commitment, modelled on the Good Shepherd,
is called for in the case of families which, often independently
of their own wishes and through pressures of various other kinds,
find themselves faced by situations which are objectively difficult. In this regard it is necessary
to call special attention to certain particular groups which
are more in need not only of assistance but also of more incisive
action upon public opinion and especially upon cultural, economic
and juridical structures, in order that the profound causes of
their needs may be eliminated as far as possible. Such for example are the families
of migrant workers; the families of those obliged to be away
for long periods, such as members of the armed forces, sailors
and all kinds of itinerant people; the families of those in prison,
of refugees and exiles; the families in big cities living practically
speaking as outcasts; families with no home; incomplete or single-parent
families; families with children that are handicapped or addicted
to drugs; the families of alcoholics; families that have been
uprooted from their cultural and social environment or are in
danger of losing it; families discriminated against for political
or other reasons; families that are ideologically divided; families
that are unable to make ready contact with the parish; families
experiencing violence or unjust treatment because of their faith;
teenage married couples; the elderly, who are often obliged to
live alone with inadequate means of subsistence. The families of migrants, especially
in the case of manual workers and farm workers, should be able
to find a homeland everywhere in the Church. This is a task stemming
from the nature of the Church, as being the sign of unity in
diversity. As far as possible these people should be looked after
by priests of their own rite, culture and language. It is also
the Church's task to appeal to the public conscience and to all
those in authority in social, economic and political life, in
order that workers may find employment in their own regions and
homelands, that they may receive just wages, that their families
may be reunited as soon as possible, be respected in their cultural
identity and treated on an equal footing with others, and that
their children may be given the chance to learn a trade and exercise
it, as also the chance to own the land needed for working and
living. A difficult problem is that of
the family which is ideologically divided. In these cases particular
pastoral care is needed. In the first place it is necessary to
maintain tactful personal contact with such families. The believing
members must be strengthened in their faith and supported in
their Christian lives. Although the party faithful to Catholicism
cannot give way, dialogue with the other party must always be
kept alive. Love and respect must be freely shown, in the firm
hope that unity will be maintained. Much also depends on the
relationship between parents and children. Moreover, ideologies
which are alien to the faith can stimulate the believing members
of the family to grow in faith and in the witness of love. Other difficult circumstances
in which the family needs the help of the ecclesial community
and its pastors are: the children's adolescence, which can be
disturbed, rebellious and sometimes stormy; the children's marriage,
which takes them away from their family; lack of understanding
or lack of love on the part of those held most dear; abandonment
by one of the spouses, or his or her death, which brings the
painful experience of widowhood, or the death of a family member,
which breaks up and deeply transforms the original family nucleus. Similarly, the Church cannot
ignore the time of old age, with all its positive and negative
aspects. In old age married love, which has been increasingly
purified and ennobled by long and unbroken fidelity, can be deepened.
There is the opportunity of offering to others, in a new form,
the kindness and the wisdom gathered over the years, and what
energies remain. But there is also the burden of loneliness,
more often psychological and emotional rather than physical,
which results from abandonment or neglect on the part of children
and relations. There is also suffering caused by ill-health,
by the gradual loss of strength, by the humiliation of having
to depend on others, by the sorrow of feeling that one is perhaps
a burden to one's loved ones, and by the approach of the end
of life. These are the circumstances in which, as the Synod Fathers
suggested, it is easier to help people understand and live the
lofty aspects of the spirituality of marriage and the family,
aspects which take their inspiration from the value of Christ's
Cross and Resurrection, the source of sanctification and profound
happiness in daily life, in the light of the great eschatological
realities of eternal life. In all these different situations
let prayer, the source of light and strength and the nourishment
of Christian hope, never be neglected. Mixed
Marriages 78. The growing number of mixed
marriages between Catholics and other baptized persons also calls
for special pastoral attention in the light of the directives
and norms contained in the most recent documents of the Holy
See and in those drawn up by the Episcopal Conferences, in order
to permit their practical application to the various situations. Couples living in a mixed marriage
have special needs, which can be put under three main headings. In the first place, attention
must be paid to the obligations that faith imposes on the Catholic
party with regard to the free exercise of the faith and the consequent
obligation to ensure, as far as is possible, the Baptism and
upbringing of the children in the Catholic faith.(179) There must be borne in mind the
particular difficulties inherent in the relationships between
husband and wife with regard to respect for religious freedom:
this freedom could be violated either by undue pressure to make
the partner change his or her beliefs, or by placing obstacles
in the way of the free manifestation of these beliefs by religious
practice. With regard to the liturgical
and canonical form of marriage, Ordinaries can make wide use
of their faculties to meet various necessities. In dealing with these special
needs, the following points should be kept in mind: Marriages between Catholics and
other baptized persons have their own particular nature, but
they contain numerous elements that could well be made good use
of and developed, both for their intrinsic value and for the
contribution that they can make to the ecumenical movement. This
is particularly true when both parties are faithful to their
religious duties. Their common Baptism and the dynamism of grace
provide the spouses in these marriages with the basis and motivation
for expressing their unity in the sphere of moral and spiritual
values. For this purpose, and also in
order to highlight the ecumenical importance of mixed marriages
which are fully lived in the faith of the two Christian spouses,
an effort should be made to establish cordial cooperation between
the Catholic and the non-Catholic ministers from the time that
preparations begin for the marriage and the wedding ceremony,
even though this does not always prove easy. With regard to the sharing of
the non-Catholic party in Eucharistic Communion, the norms issued
by the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity should be followed.(179) Today in many parts of the world
marriages between Catholics and non-baptized persons are growing
in numbers. In many such marriages the non-baptized partner professes
another religion, and his beliefs are to be treated with respect,
in accordance with the principles set out in the Second Vatican
Council's Declaration Nostra aetate on relations with non-Christian
religions. But in many other such marriages, particularly in
secularized societies, the non- baptized person professes no
religion at all. In these marriages there is a need for Episcopal
Conferences and for individual Bishops to ensure that there are
proper pastoral safeguards for the faith of the Catholic partner
and for the free exercise of his faith, above all in regard to
his duty to do all in his power to ensure the Catholic baptism
and education of the children of the marriage. Likewise the Catholic
must be assisted in every possible way to offer within his family
a genuine witness to the Catholic faith and to Catholic life. Pastoral
Action in Certain Irregular Situations 79. In its solicitude to protect
the family in all its dimensions, not only the religious one,
the Synod of Bishops did not fail to take into careful consideration
certain situations which are irregular in a religious sense and
often in the civil sense too. Such situations, as a result of
today's rapid cultural changes, are unfortunately becoming widespread
also among Catholics with no little damage to the very institution
of the family and to society, of which the family constitutes
the basic cell. a) Trial Marriages 80. A first example of an irregular
situation is provided by what are called "trial marriages,"
which many people today would like to justify by attributing
a certain value to them. But human reason leads one to see that
they are unacceptable, by showing the unconvincing nature of
carrying out an "experiment" with human beings, whose
dignity demands that they should be always and solely the term
of a self-giving love without limitations of time or of any other
circumstance. The Church, for her part, cannot
admit such a kind of union, for further and original reasons
which derive from faith. For, in the first place, the gift of
the body in the sexual relationship is a real symbol of the giving
of the whole person: such a giving, moreover, in the present
state of things cannot take place with full truth without the
concourse of the love of charity, given by Christ. In the second
place, marriage between two baptized persons is a real symbol
of the union of Christ and the Church, which is not a temporary
or "trial" union but one which is eternally faithful.
Therefore between two baptized persons there can exist only an
indissoluble marriage. Such a situation cannot usually
be overcome unless the human person, from childhood, with the
help of Christ's grace and without fear, has been trained to
dominate concupiscence from the beginning and to establish relationships
of genuine love with other people. This cannot be secured without
a true education in genuine love and in the right use of sexuality,
such as to introduce the human person in every aspect, and therefore
the bodily aspect too, into the fullness of the mystery of Christ. It will be very useful to investigate
the causes of this phenomenon, including its psychological and
sociological aspect, in order to find the proper remedy. b) De Facto Free
Unions 81. This means unions without
any publicly recognized institutional bond, either civil or religious.
This phenomenon, which is becoming ever more frequent, cannot
fail to concern pastors of souls, also because it may be based
on widely varying factors, the consequences of which may perhaps
be containable by suitable action. Some people consider themselves
almost forced into a free union by difficult economic, cultural
or religious situations, on the grounds that, if they contracted
a regular marriage, they would be exposed to some form of harm,
would lose economic advantages, would be discriminated against,
etc. In other cases, however, one encounters people who scorn,
rebel against or reject society, the institution of the family
and the social and political order, or who are solely seeking
pleasure. Then there are those who are driven to such situations
by extreme ignorance or poverty, sometimes by a conditioning
due to situations of real injustice, or by a certain psychological
immaturity that makes them uncertain or afraid to enter into
a stable and definitive union. In some countries, traditional
customs presume that the true and proper marriage will take place
only after a period of cohabitation and the birth of the first
child. Each of these elements presents
the Church with arduous pastoral problems, by reason of the serious
consequences deriving from them, both religious and moral (the
loss of the religious sense of marriage seen in the light of
the Covenant of God with His people; deprivation of the grace
of the sacrament; grave scandal), and also social consequences
(the destruction of the concept of the family; the weakening
of the sense of fidelity, also towards society; possible psychological
damage to the children; the strengthening of selfishness). The pastors and the ecclesial
community should take care to become acquainted with such situations
and their actual causes, case by case. They should make tactful
and respectful contact with the couples concerned, and enlighten
them patiently, correct them charitably and show them the witness
of Christian family life, in such a way as to smooth the path
for them to regularize their situation. But above all there must
be a campaign of prevention, by fostering the sense of fidelity
in the whole moral and religious training of the young, instructing
them concerning the conditions and structures that favor such
fidelity, without which there is no true freedom; they must be
helped to reach spiritual maturity and enabled to understand
the rich human and supernatural reality of marriage as a sacrament. The People of God should also
make approaches to the public authorities, in order that the
latter may resist these tendencies which divide society and are
harmful to the dignity, security and welfare of the citizens
as individuals, and they must try to ensure that public opinion
is not led to undervalue the institutional importance of marriage
and the family. And since in many regions young people are unable
to get married properly because of extreme poverty deriving from
unjust or inadequate social and economic structures, society
and the public authorities should favor legitimate marriage by
means of a series of social and political actions which will
guarantee a family wage, by issuing directives ensuring housing
fitting for family life and by creating opportunities for work
and life. c) Catholics in
Civil Marriages 82. There are increasing cases
of Catholics who for ideological or practical reasons, prefer
to contract a merely civil marriage, and who reject or at least
defer religious marriage. Their situation cannot of course be
likened to that of people simply living together without any
bond at all, because in the present case there is at least a
certain commitment to a properly-defined and probably stable
state of life, even though the possibility of a future divorce
is often present in the minds of those entering a civil marriage.
By seeking public recognition of their bond on the part of the
State, such couples show that they are ready to accept not only
its advantages but also its obligations. Nevertheless, not even
this situation is acceptable to the Church. The aim of pastoral action will
be to make these people understand the need for consistency between
their choice of life and the faith that they profess, and to
try to do everything possible to induce them to regularize their
situation in the light of Christian principle. While treating
them with great charity and bringing them into the life of the
respective communities, the pastors of the Church will regrettably
not be able to admit them to the sacraments. d) Separated or
Divorced Persons Who Have Not Remarried 83. Various reasons can unfortunately
lead to the often irreparable breakdown of valid marriages. These
include mutual lack of understanding and the inability to enter
into interpersonal relationships. Obviously, separation must
be considered as a last resort, after all other reasonable attempts
at reconciliation have proved vain. Loneliness and other difficulties
are often the lot of separated spouses, especially when they
are the innocent parties. The ecclesial community must support
such people more than ever. It must give them much respect, solidarity,
understanding and practical help, so that they can preserve their
fidelity even in their difficult situation; and it must help
them to cultivate the need to forgive which is inherent in Christian
love, and to be ready perhaps to return to their former married
life. The situation is similar for
people who have undergone divorce, but, being well aware that
the valid marriage bond is indissoluble, refrain from becoming
involved in a new union and devote themselves solely to carrying
out their family duties and the responsibilities of Christian
life. In such cases their example of fidelity and Christian consistency
takes on particular value as a witness before the world and the
Church. Here it is even more necessary for the Church to offer
continual love and assistance, without there being any obstacle
to admission to the sacraments. e) Divorced Persons
Who Have Remarried 84. Daily experience unfortunately
shows that people who have obtained a divorce usually intend
to enter into a new union, obviously not with a Catholic religious
ceremony. Since this is an evil that, like the others, is affecting
more and more Catholics as well, the problem must be faced with
resolution and without delay. The Synod Fathers studied it expressly.
The Church, which was set up to lead to salvation all people
and especially the baptized, cannot abandon to their own devices
those who have been previously bound by sacramental marriage
and who have attempted a second marriage. The Church will therefore
make untiring efforts to put at their disposal her means of salvation. Pastors must know that, for the
sake of truth, they are obliged to exercise careful discernment
of situations. There is in fact a difference between those who
have sincerely tried to save their first marriage and have been
unjustly abandoned, and those who through their own grave fault
have destroyed a canonically valid marriage. Finally, there are
those who have entered into a second union for the sake of the
children's upbringing, and who are sometimes subjectively certain
in conscience that their previous and irreparably destroyed marriage
had never been valid. Together with the Synod, I earnestly
call upon pastors and the whole community of the faithful to
help the divorced, and with solicitous care to make sure that
they do not consider themselves as separated from the Church,
for as baptized persons they can, and indeed must, share in her
life. They should be encouraged to listen to the word of God,
to attend the Sacrifice of the Mass, to persevere in prayer,
to contribute to works of charity and to community efforts in
favor of justice, to bring up their children in the Christian
faith, to cultivate the spirit and practice of penance and thus
implore, day by day, God's grace. Let the Church pray for them,
encourage them and show herself a merciful mother, and thus sustain
them in faith and hope. However, the Church reaffirms
her practice, which is based upon Sacred Scripture, of not admitting
to Eucharistic Communion divorced persons who have remarried.
They are unable to be admitted thereto from the fact that their
state and condition of life objectively contradict that union
of love between Christ and the Church which is signified and
effected by the Eucharist. Besides this, there is another special
pastoral reason: if these people were admitted to the Eucharist,
the faithful would be led into error and confusion regarding
the Church's teaching about the indissolubility of marriage. Reconciliation in the sacrament
of Penance which would open the way to the Eucharist, can only
be granted to those who, repenting of having broken the sign
of the Covenant and of fidelity to Christ, are sincerely ready
to undertake a way of life that is no longer in contradiction
to the indissolubility of marriage. This means, in practice,
that when, for serious reasons, such as for example the children's
upbringing, a man and a woman cannot satisfy the obligation to
separate, they "take on themselves the duty to live in complete
continence, that is, by abstinence from the acts proper to married
couples."(180) Similarly, the respect due to
the sacrament of Matrimony, to the couples themselves and their
families, and also to the community of the faithful, forbids
any pastor, for whatever reason or pretext even of a pastoral
nature, to perform ceremonies of any kind for divorced people
who remarry. Such ceremonies would give the impression of the
celebration of a new sacramentally valid marriage, and would
thus lead people into error concerning the indissolubility of
a validly contracted marriage. By acting in this way, the Church
professes her own fidelity to Christ and to His truth. At the
same time she shows motherly concern for these children of hers,
especially those who, through no fault of their own, have been
abandoned by their legitimate partner. With firm confidence she believes
that those who have rejected the Lord's command and are still
living in this state will be able to obtain from God the grace
of conversion and salvation, provided that they have persevered
in prayer, penance and charity. Those
Without a Family 85. I wish to add a further word
for a category of people whom, as a result of the actual circumstances
in which they are living, and this often not through their own
deliberate wish, I consider particularly close to the Heart of
Christ and deserving of the affection and active solicitude of
the Church and of pastors. There exist in the world countless
people who unfortunately cannot in any sense claim membership
of what could be called in the proper sense a family. Large sections
of humanity live in conditions of extreme poverty, in which promiscuity,
lack of housing, the irregular nature and instability of relationships
and the extreme lack of education make it impossible in practice
to speak of a true family. There are others who, for various
reasons, have been left alone in the world. And yet for all of
these people there exists a "good news of the family." On behalf of those living in
extreme poverty, I have already spoken of the urgent need to
work courageously in order to find solutions, also at the political
level, which will make it possible to help them and to overcome
this inhuman condition of degradation. It is a task that faces the whole
of society but in a special way the authorities, by reason of
their position and the responsibilities flowing therefrom, and
also families, which must show great understanding and willingness
to help. For those who have no natural
family the doors of the great family which is the Church-the
Church which finds concrete expression in the diocesan and the
parish family, in ecclesial basic communities and in movements
of the apostolate-must be opened even wider. No one is without
a family in this world: the Church is a home and family for everyone,
especially those who "labor and are heavy laden."(181) 86. At the end of this Apostolic
Exhortation my thoughts turn with earnest solicitude: to you, married couples, to you,
fathers and mothers of families; to you, young men and women,
the future and the hope of the Church and the world, destined
to be the dynamic central nucleus of the family in the approaching
third millennium; to you, venerable and dear Brothers
in the Episcopate and in the priesthood, beloved sons and daughters
in the religious life, souls consecrated to the Lord, who bear
witness before married couples to the ultimate reality of the
love of God; to you, upright men and women,
who for any reason whatever give thought to the fate of the family. The future of humanity passes
by way of the family. It is therefore indispensable
and urgent that every person of good will should endeavor to
save and foster the values and requirements of the family. I feel that I must ask for a
particular effort in this field from the sons and daughters of
the Church. Faith gives them full knowledge of God's wonderful
plan: they therefore have an extra reason for caring for the
reality that is the family in this time of trial and of grace. They must show the family special
love. This is an injunction that calls for concrete action. Loving the family means being
able to appreciate its values and capabilities, fostering them
always. Loving the family means identifying the dangers and the
evils that menace it, in order to overcome them. Loving the family
means endeavoring to create for it an environment favorable for
its development. The modern Christian family is often tempted
to be discouraged and is distressed at the growth of its difficulties;
it is an eminent form of love to give it back its reasons for
confidence in itself, in the riches that it possesses by nature
and grace, and in the mission that God has entrusted to it. "Yes
indeed, the families of today must be called back to their original
position. They must follow Christ."(182) Christians also have the mission
of proclaiming with joy and conviction the Good News about the
family, for the family absolutely needs to hear ever anew and
to understand ever more deeply the authentic words that reveal
its identity, its inner resources and the importance of its mission
in the City of God and in that of man. The Church knows the path by
which the family can reach the heart of the deepest truth about
itself. The Church has learned this path at the school of Christ
and the school of history interpreted in the light of the Spirit.
She does not impose it but she feels an urgent need to propose
it to everyone without fear and indeed with great confidence
and hope, although she knows that the Good News includes the
subject of the Cross. But it is through the Cross that the family
can attain the fullness of its being and the perfection of its
love. Finally, I wish to call on all
Christians to collaborate cordially and courageously with all
people of good will who are serving the family in accordance
with their responsibilities. The individuals and groups, movements
and associations in the Church which devote themselves to the
family's welfare, acting in the Church's name and under her inspiration,
often find themselves side by side with other individuals and
institutions working for the same ideal. With faithfulness to
the values of the Gospel and of the human person and with respect
for lawful pluralism in initiatives this collaboration can favor
a more rapid and integral advancement of the family. And now, at the end of my pastoral
message, which is intended to draw everyone's attention to the
demanding yet fascinating roles of the Christian family, I wish
to invoke the protection of the Holy Family of Nazareth. Through God's mysterious design,
it was in that family that the Son of God spent long years of
a hidden life. It is therefore the prototype and example for
all Christian families. It was unique in the world. Its life
was passed in anonymity and silence in a little town in Palestine.
It underwent trials of poverty, persecution and exile. It glorified
God in an incomparably exalted and pure way. And it will not
fail to help Christian families-indeed, all the families in the
world-to be faithful to their day-to-day duties, to bear the
cares and tribulations of life, to be open and generous to the
needs of others, and to fulfill with joy the plan of God in their
regard. St. Joseph was "a just man,"
a tireless worker, the upright guardian of those entrusted to
his care. May he always guard, protect and enlighten families. May the Virgin Mary, who is the
Mother of the Church, also be the Mother of "the Church
of the home." Thanks to her motherly aid, may each Christian
family really become a "little Church" in which the
mystery of the Church of Christ is mirrored and given new life.
May she, the Handmaid of the Lord, be an example of humble and
generous acceptance of the will of God. May she, the Sorrowful
Mother at the foot of the Cross, comfort the sufferings and dry
the tears of those in distress because of the difficulties of
their families. May Christ the Lord, the Universal
King, the King of Families, be present in every Christian home
as He was at Cana, bestowing light, joy, serenity and strength.
On the solemn day dedicated to His Kingship I beg of Him that
every family may generously make its own contribution to the
coming of His Kingdom in the world - "a kingdom of truth
and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice,
love, and peace," 183 towards which history is journeying. I entrust each family to Him,
to Mary, and to Joseph. To their hands and their hearts I offer
this Exhortation: may it be they who present it to you, venerable
Brothers and beloved sons and daughters, and may it be they who
open your hearts to the light that the Gospel sheds on every
family. I assure you all of my constant
prayers and I cordially impart the apostolic blessing to each
and every one of you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit. Given in Rome, at St. Peter's,
on the twenty-second day of November, the Solemnity of our Lord
Jesus Christ, Universal King, in the year 1981, the fourth of
the Pontificate. Pope
John Paul II NOTES
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1. The family in the
modern world, as much as and perhaps more than any other institution,
has been beset by the many profound and rapid changes that have
affected society and culture. Many families are living this situation
in fidelity to those values that constitute the foundation of
the institution of the family. Others have become uncertain and
bewildered over their role or even doubtful and almost unaware
of the ultimate meaning and truth of conjugal and family life.
Finally, there are others who are hindered by various situations
of injustice in the realization of their fundamental rights.
2. A sign of this profound
interest of the Church in the family was the last Synod of Bishops,
held in Rome from September 26 to October 25, 1980. This was
a natural continuation of the two preceding Synods(2): the Christian
family, in fact, is the first community called to announce the
Gospel to the human person during growth and to bring him or
her, through a progressive education and catechesis, to full
human and Christian maturity.
3. Illuminated by the
faith that gives her an understanding of all the truth concerning
the great value of marriage and the family and their deepest
meaning, the Church once again feels the pressing need to proclaim
the Gospel, that is the "good news", to all people
without exception, in particular to all those who are called
to marriage and are preparing for it, to all married couples
and parents in the world.
4. Since God's plan for
marriage and the family touches men and women in the concreteness
of their daily existence in specific social and cultural situations,
the Church ought to apply herself to understanding the situations
within which marriage and the family are lived today, in order
to fulfill her task of serving.(8)
5. The discernment effected
by the Church becomes the offering of an orientation in order
that the entire truth and the full dignity of marriage and the
family may be preserved and realized.
6. The situation in which
the family finds itself presents positive and negative aspects:
the first are a sign of the salvation of Christ operating in
the world; the second, a sign of the refusal that man gives to
the love of God.
7. Living in such a world,
under the pressures coming above all from the mass media, the
faithful do not always remain immune from the obscuring of certain
fundamental values, nor set themselves up as the critical conscience
of family culture and as active agents in the building of an
authentic family humanism.
8. The whole Church is
obliged to a deep reflection and commitment, so that the new
culture now emerging may be evangelized in depth, true values
acknowledged, the rights of men and women defended, and justice
promoted in the very structures of society. In this way the "new
humanism" will not distract people from their relationship
with God, but will lead them to it more fully.
9. To the injustice originating
from sin -- which has profoundly penetrated the structures of
today's world -- and often hindering the family's full realization
of itself and of its fundamental rights, we must all set ourselves
in opposition through a conversion of mind and heart, following
Christ Crucified by denying our own selfishness: such a conversion
cannot fail to have a beneficial and renewing influence even
on the structures of society.
10. In conformity with
her constant tradition, the Church receives from the various
cultures everything that is able to express better the unsearchable
riches of Christ.(18) Only with the help of all the cultures
will it be possible for these riches to be manifested ever more
clearly, and for the Church to progress toward a daily more complete
and profound awareness of the truth, which has already been given
to her in its entirety by the Lord.
11. God created man in
His own image and likeness(20): calling him to existence through
love, He called him at the same time for love.
12. The communion of
love between God and people, a fundamental part of the Revelation
and faith experience of Israel, finds a meaningful expression
in the marriage covenant which is established between a man and
a woman.
13. The communion between
God and His people finds its definitive fulfillment in Jesus
Christ, the Bridegroom who loves and gives Himself as the Savior
of humanity, uniting it to Himself as His body.
14. According to the
plan of God, marriage is the foundation of the wider community
of the family, since the very institution of marriage and conjugal
love are ordained to the procreation and education of children,
in whom they find their crowning.(34)
15. In matrimony and
in the family a complex of interpersonal relationships is set
up -- married life, fatherhood and motherhood, filiation and
fraternity -- through which each human person is introduced into
the "human family" and into the "family of God",
which is the Church.
16. Virginity or celibacy
for the sake of the Kingdom of God not only does not contradict
the dignity of marriage but presupposes it and confirms it. Marriage
and virginity or celibacy are two ways of expressing and living
the one mystery of the covenant of God with His people. When
marriage is not esteemed, neither can consecrated virginity or
celibacy exist; when human sexuality is not regarded as a great
value given by the Creator, the renunciation of it for the sake
of the Kingdom of Heaven loses its meaning.
17. The family finds
in the plan of God the Creator and Redeemer not only its identity,
what it is, but also its mission, what it can and should do.
The role that God calls the family to perform in history derives
from what the family is; its role represents the dynamic and
existential development of what it is. Each family finds within
itself a summons that cannot be ignored, and that specifies both
its dignity and its responsibility: family, become what you are.
18. The family, which
is founded and given life by love, is a community of persons:
of husband and wife, of parents and children, of relatives. Its
first task is to live with fidelity the reality of communion
in a constant effort to develop an authentic community of persons.
19. The first communion
is the one which is established and which develops between husband
and wife: by virtue of the covenant of married life, the man
and woman "are no longer two but one flesh"(46) and
they are called to grow continually in their communion through
day-to-day fidelity to their marriage promise of total mutual
self-giving.
20. Conjugal communion
is characterized not only by its unity but also by its indissolubility:
"As a mutual gift of two persons, this intimate union, as
well as the good of children, imposes total fidelity on the spouses
and argues for an unbreakable oneness between them."(49)
21. Conjugal communion
constitutes the foundation on which is built the broader communion
of the family, of parents and children, of brothers and sisters
with each other, of relatives and other members of the household.
22. In that it is, and
ought always to become, a communion and community of persons,
the family finds in love the source and the constant impetus
for welcoming, respecting and promoting each one of its members
in his or her lofty dignity as a person, that is, as a living
image of God. As the Synod Fathers rightly stated, the moral
criterion for the authenticity of conjugal and family relationships
consists in fostering the dignity and vocation of the individual
persons, who achieve their fullness by sincere self-giving.(63)
23. Without intending
to deal with all the various aspects of the vast and complex
theme of the relationships between women and society, and limiting
these remarks to a few essential points, one cannot but observe
that in the specific area of family life a widespread social
and cultural tradition has considered women's role to be exclusively
that of wife and mother, without adequate access to public functions
which have generally been reserved for men.
24. Unfortunately the
Christian message about the dignity of women is contradicted
by that persistent mentality which considers the human being
not as a person but as a thing, as an object of trade, at the
service of selfish interest and mere pleasure: the first victims
of this mentality are women.
25. Within the conjugal
and family communion-community, the man is called upon to live
his gift and role as husband and father.
26. In the family, which
is a community of persons, special attention must be devoted
to the children by developing a profound esteem for their personal
dignity, and a great respect and generous concern for their rights.
This is true for every child, but it becomes all the more urgent
the smaller the child is and the more it is in need of everything,
when it is sick, suffering or handicapped.
27. There are cultures
which manifest a unique veneration and great love for the elderly:
far from being outcasts from the family or merely tolerated as
a useless burden, they continue to be present and to take an
active and responsible part in family life, though having to
respect the autonomy of the new family; above all they carry
out the important mission of being a witness to the past and
a source of wisdom for the young and for the future.
28. With the creation
of man and woman in His own image and likeness, God crowns and
brings to perfection the work of His hands: He calls them to
a special sharing in His love and in His power as Creator and
Father, through their free and responsible cooperation in transmitting
the gift of human life: "God blessed them, and God said
to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue
it.'"(80)
29. Precisely because
the love of husband and wife is a unique participation in the
mystery of life and of the love of God Himself, the Church knows
that she has received the special mission of guarding and protecting
the lofty dignity of marriage and the most serious responsibility
of the transmission of human life.
30. The teaching of the
Church in our day is placed in a social and cultural context
which renders it more difficult to understand and yet more urgent
and irreplaceable for promoting the true good of men and women.
31. The Church is certainly
aware of the many complex problems which couples in many countries
face today in their task of transmitting life in a responsible
way. She also recognizes the serious problem of population growth
in the form it has taken in many parts of the world and its moral
implications.
32. In the context of
a culture which seriously distorts or entirely misinterprets
the true meaning of human sexuality, because it separates it
from its essential reference to the person, the Church more urgently
feels how irreplaceable is her mission of presenting sexuality
as a value and task of the whole person, created male and female
in the image of God.
III
- PARTICIPATING IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIETY
1. Cf. Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, 52.
2. Cf. John Paul II, Homily for the Opening of the Sixth Synod of Bishops (Sept. 26, 1980), 2: AAS 72 (1980), 1008.
3. Cf. Gn. 1-2.
4. Cf. Eph. 5.
5. Cf. Second Vatican Council, GS, 47; Pope John Paul II, Letter Appropinquat Iam (Aug. 15, 1980), 1: AAS 72 (1980), 791.
6. Cf. Mt. 19:4.
7. Cf. Second Vatican Council, GS, 47. 8. Cf. John Paul II, Address to Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops (Feb. 23, 1980): Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II,) III, I (1980), 472-476.
9. Cf. Second Vatican Council, GS, 4. 10. Cf. Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium, 12.
11. Cf. I Jn. 2:20.
12. Second Vatican Council, LG, 35.
13. Cf. Second Vatican Council, LG, 12; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration Mysterium Ecclesiae, 2: AAS 65 (1973), 398-400.
14. Cf. Second Vatican Council, LG, 12; Dei Verbum, 10.
15. Cf. John Paul II, Homily for the Opening of the Sixth Synod of Bishops, 3.
16. Cf. St. Augustine, De Civitate Dei, XIV, 28; CSEL 40, II, 56-57.
17. GS, 15.
18. Cf. Eph. 3:8; Second Vatican Council, GS, 44; Ad Gentes, 15,22.
19. Cf. Mt. 19:4-6.
20. Cf. Gn. 1:26-27.
21. 1 Jn. 4:8.
22. Cf. Second Vatican Council, GS, 12. 23. Cf. Ibid., 48.
24. Cf. e.g., Hos. 2:21; Jer. 3:6-13; Is. 54.
25. Ez. 16:25.
26. Cf. Hos. 3.
27. Cf. Gn. 2:24; Mt. 19:5.
28. Cf. Eph. 5:32-33
29. Tertullian, Ad Uxorem, II, VIII, 6-8: CCL, I, 393.
30. Cf. Council of Trent, Session XXIV, Canon 1: I.D. Mansi, Sacrorum Conciliorum Nova et Amplissima Collectio,33,149-150.
31. Cf. Second Vatican Council, GS, 48.
32. John Paul II, Address to the delegates of the Centre de Liaison des Equipes de Recherche (Nov. 3, 1979), 3: Insegnamenti II, 2 (1979), 1038.
33. Ibid., 4; loc. cit., 1032. 34. Cf. Second Vatican Council, GS, 50.
34. Cf. Second Vatican Council, GS, 50.
35. Cf. Gn. 2:24.
36. Eph. 3:15.
37. Cf. Second Vatican Council, GS, 78. 38. St. John Chrysostom, Virginity, X: PG 48:540.
39. Cf. Mt. 22:30.
40. Cf. 1 Cor. 7:32-35.
41. Second Vatican Council, Perfectae Caritatis, 12.
42. Cf. Pius XII, Encyclical Sacra Virginitas, II: AAS 46 (1954), 174ff.
43. Cf. John Paul II, Letter Novo Incipiente (April 8, 1979), 9: AAS 71 (1979), 410-411.
44. Second Vatican Council, GS, 48.
45. Encyclical Redemptor Hominis, 10: AAS 71 (1979), 274.
46. Mt. 19:6; cf. Gn. 2:24.
47. Cf. John Paul II, Address to Married People at Kinshasa (May 3, 1980) 4: AAS 72 (1980), 426-427.
48. GS, 49; cf. John Paul II, Address at Kinshasa 4: loc. cit.
49. Second Vatican Council, GS, 48.
50. Cf Eph 5:25.
51. Mt. 19:8.
52. Rv. 3:14.
53. Cf. 2Cor. 1:20.
54. Cf. Jn. 13:1.
55. Mt. 19:6.
56. Rom. 8:29.
57. St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, II-II, q. 14, art. 2, ad 4. 58. Second Vatican Council, LG, 11; cf. Apostolicam Actuositatem, 11.
59. Second Vatican Council, GS, 52.
60. Cf. Eph. 6:1-4; Col. 3:20-21.
61. Cf. Second Vatican Council, GS, 48.
62. Jn. 17:21.
63. Cf. Second Vatican Council, GS, 24.
64. Gn. 1:27.
65. Gal. 3:26, 28
66. Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Laborem Exercens, 19: AAS 73 (1981), 625.
67. Gn. 2:18.
68. Gn. 2:23.
69. St. Ambrose, Exameron, V 7, 19: CSEL 32, I, 154.
70. Paul VI, Encyclical Humanae Vitae, 9: AAS 60 (1968), 486.
71. Cf. Eph. 5:25.
72. Cf. John Paul II, Homily to the Faithful of Terni (March 19, 1981), 3-5: AAS 73 (1981), 268-271.
73. Cf. Eph. 3:15.
74. Cf. Second Vatican Council, GS, 52. 75. Lk. 18:16; cf. Mt. 19:14; Mk. 18:16.
76. John Paul II, Address to the General Assembly of the United Nations (Oct. 2, 1979), 21: AAS 71(1979), 1159.
77. Lk. 2:52.
78. Cf. Second Vatican Council, GS, 48.
79. John Paul II, Address to the Participants in the International Forum on Active Aging (Sept. 5, 1980), 5: Insegnamenti, III, 2 (1980), 539.
80. Gn. 1:28.
81. Cf. Gn. 5:1-3.
82. Second Vatican Council, GS, 50.
83. Propositio 21. Section 11 of the encyclical Humanae Vitae ends with the statement: "The church, calling people back to the observance of the norms of the natural law, as interpreted by her constant doctrine, teaches that each and every marriage act must remain open to the transmission of life (ut quilibet matrimonii usus ad vitam humanam procreandam per se destinatus permaneat)": AAS 60 (1968), 488.
84. Cf. 2 Cor. 1:19; Rv. 3:14.
85. Cf. The sixth Synod of Bishops' Message to Christian Families in the Modern World (Oct. 24, 1980), 5.
86. GS, 51.
87. Encyclical Humanae Vitae, 7: AAS 60 (1968), 485.
88. Ibid., 12: loc. cit., 488-489.
89. Ibid., 14: loc. cit., 490.
90. Ibid., 13: loc. cit.,m 489.
91. Cf. Second Vatican Council, GS, 51.
92. Encyclical Humanae Vitae, 29: AAS 60 (1968), 501.
93. Cf. Ibid., 25: loc. cit., 498-499.
94. Ibid., 21: loc. cit., 496.
95. John Paul II, Homily at the Close of the Sixth Synod of Bishops (Oct. 25, 1980), 8: AAS 72 (1980), 1083.
96. Cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Humanae Vitae, 28: AAS 60 (1968), 501.
97. Cf. John Paul II, Address to the Delegates of the Centre de Liaison des Equipes de Recherche (Nov. 3, 1979), 9: Insegnamenti, II, 2 (1979), 1035; and cf. Address to the Participants in the First Congress for the Family of Africa and Europe (Jan. 15, 1981): L'Osservatore Romano, Jan. 16, 1981.
98. Encyclical Humanae Vitae, 25: AAS 60 (1968), 499.
99. Gravissimum Educationis, 3.
100. Second Vatican Council, GS, 35.
101. St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles, IV, 58.
102. GE, 2.
103. Apostolic exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, 71: AAS 68 (1976), 60-61.
104. Cf. Second Vatican Council, GE, 3.
105. Second Vatican Council, AA, 11.
106. GS, 52.
107. Cf. Second Vatican Council, AA, 11.
108. Rom. 12:13.
109. Mt. 10:42.
110. Cf. GS, 30.
111. Second Vatican Council, Dignitatis Humanae, 5.
112. Cf propositio 42.
113. Second Vatican Council, LG, 31.
114. Cf. Second Vatican Council, LG, 11; AA, II; Pope John Paul II, Homily for the Opening of the Sixth Synod of Bishops (Sept. 26, 1980), 3:AAS 72 (1980) 1008.
115. Second Vatican Council, LG, 11.
116. Cf. Ibid., 41.
117. Acts 4:32.
118. Cf. Paul VI, Humanae Vitae, 9. 119. GS, 48.
120. Cf. Second Vatican Council, DV, 1. 121. Rom. 16:26.
122. Cf. Paul VI, Humanae Vitae, 25. 123. Evangelii Nuntiandi, 71.
124. Cf. Address to the Third General Assembly of the Bishops of Latin America (Jan. 28, 1979), IV A: AAS 71(1979), 204.
125. Second Vatican Council, LG, 35. 126. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Catechesi Tradendae, 68: AAS 71 (1979), 1334.
127. Cf. Ibid., 36: loc. cit., 1308. 128. Cf. 1 Cor. 12:4-6; Eph. 4:12-13. 129. Mk. 16:15.
130. Cf. Second Vatican Council, LG, 11.
131. Acts 1:8.
132. Cf.l Pt.3:1-2.
133. Second Vatican Council, LG, 35; cf. AA, 11.
134. Cf. Acts 18; Rom. 16:3-4.
135. Cf. Second Vatican Council, AG, 39.
136. Second Vatican Council, AA, 30. 137. Cf. Second Vatican Council, LG, 10.
138. Second Vatican Council, GS, 49. 139. Ibid., 48.
140. Cf. Second Vatican Council, LG, 41.
141. Second Vatican Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium, 59.
142. Cf. 1 Pt. 2:5; Second Vatican Council, LG, 34.
143. Second Vatican Council, LG, 34.
144. SC, 78.
145. Cf. Jn. 19:34.
146. Section 25: AAS 60 (1968), 499.
147. Eph. 2:4.
148. Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Dives in Misericordia, 13: AAS 72 (1980)[1218]-1219.
149. 1 Pt. 2:5.
150. Mt. 18:19-20.
151. Second Vatican Council, GE, 3; cf. Pope John Paul II, Catechesi Tradendae, 36: AAS 71 (1979), 1308.
152. General Audience Address,Aug. 11, 1976:Insegnamenti di Paolo VI, XIV (1976),640.
I[53]. Cf. SC, 12.
154. Cf. Institutio Generalis de Liturgia Horarum, 27.
155. Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus, 52, 54: AAS 66 (1974), 160-161.
156. John Paul II, Address at the Mentorella Shrine (Oct. 29, 1978): Insegnamenti, I (1978), 78-79.
157. Cf. Second Vatican Council, AA, 4.
158. Cf. John Paul I, Address to the Bishops of the 12th Pastoral Region of the United States (Sept. 21, 1978): AAS, 70 (1978), 767.
159. Rom. 8:2.
160. Rom. 5:5.
161. Cf. Mk. 10:45.
162. Second Vatican Council, LG, 36.
163. AA, 8.
164. Cf. Synod of Bishops' Message to Christian Families (Oct. 24, 1980),12.
165. Cf. John Paul II, Address to the Third General Assembly of the Bishops of Latin America (Jan. 28, 1979), IV A: AAS 71(1979), 204.
166. Cf. Second Vatican Council, SC, 10.
167. Cf. Ordo Celebrandi Matrimonium, 17.
168. Cf. Second Vatican Council, SC, 59.
169. Second Vatican Council, PC, 12.
170. John Paul II, Address to the Confederation of Family Advisory Bureaus of Christian Inspiration (Nov. 29, 1980), 3-4: Insegnamenti III, 2 (1980), 1453-1454.
171. Paul VI, Message for the Third Social Communications Day (April 7,1969): AAS 61 (1969), 455.
172. John Paul II, Message for the 1980 World Social Communications Day (May 1, 1980): Insegnamenti III, 1 (1980), 1042.
173. John Paul II, Message for the 1981 World Social Communications Day (May 10, 1981), 5: L'Osservatore Romano, May 22, 1981.
174. Ibid.
175. Paul VI, Message for the Third Social Communications Day: AAS 61 (1969), 456.
176. Ibid.
177. John Paul II, Message for the 1980 World Social Communications Day, loc. sit., 1044.
178. Cf. Paul VI, Motu Proprio Matrimonia Mixta, 4-5: AAS 62 (1970), 257-259; John Paul II, Address to the Participants in the Plenary Meeting of the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity (Nov. 13, 1981): L'Osservatore Romano, Nov. 14,1981.
179. Instruction In Quibus Rerum Circumstantiis (June 15, 1972): AAS 64 (1972), 518-525; Note of Oct. 17, 1973; AAS 65 (1973), 616-619.
180. John Paul II, Homily at the Close of the Sixth Synod of Bishops, 7 (Oct. 25, 1980): AAS 72 (1980), 1082.
181. Mt. 11:28.
182. John Paul II, Letter Appropinquat Iam (Aug. 15, 1980), 1: AAS 72 (1980), 791.
183. The Roman Missal, Preface of Christ the King.
See Helen
Hull Hitchcock's article "Familiaris Consortio - on the Role of the Christian Family
in the Modern World",
November 2001.
Pope
John Paul II - Message on Familiaris Consortio - 20th Anniversary -- November 22, 2001
"Twenty
years since 'Familiaris Consortio': The Anthropological
and Pastoral Dimension"
- Pontifical Council for
the Family Conclusions of the Theological-Pastoral Congress (December
20, 2001)
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