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John Paul and the Family
THE United Nations has declared 1994 the Year of tne Family. In 1985 when the United Nations declared an international youth y^ar. .the Pope took up that initiative. This year he joins again with the United Na-
Uhi initially- by directing the attention of the whole .Catholic Church on this irreplaceable primary unit of society
He has done this in three basic initiatives These give rise to many others that will continue to go on during the whole year The three basic Initiatives are his Message for the World Day of Peace 1994: his letter to Faml Ues; various position papers in the Reparation for the World Conference on Population and Development that will be held in September. 1994 in Cairo. K«yp»
Going beyond the limits of the Catholic Church. Pope John Paul II is reaching out to all persons of good will. He is knocking al the door o every house to spend sortie time there and propose in this wav a realistk and optimistic vision of lamth problems He is convirn rd iha’ by the effort's of manv d farm
URs humanity will ire able' Mo direct iiseii in the right path to build up a chriliza Uon established on love.
Already on a previous Ocrasi'ie T T- Jnhr the family in today s society "the situation of the family in the world today presents positive and negative as peels On the one hand, in
fact, there Is more lively awareness of personal freedom and greater attention to the quality of interpersonal relationships In Joined to a certain anguish and uncertainty about the future., deprive married couples of the generosity and courage needed for
marriage. to promoting the dlgntty of Women, to responsible procreation, to the education of the children. There is also an awareness of the need for the development of interfamily relationships, for reciprocal spiritual and material assistance."
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 di-vorres; (hr scourge of abortion the even more frequent recourse to stertl izatlon. the appearance of a truly contraceptive mental-’tty
"Worthy of our attention W also the fact that. In the countries of the so-called Third World, families often lark both of means neces-* .- c,r . — ,1 Mirb a*
' I
elementary freedoms In the richer countries on the contrary, excessive prosperity and consumer mentality paradoxicallyJoined to a certain anguish and uncertainty about the future., deprive married couples of the generosity and courage needed for raising needed up new human life: thus life is often perceived not as a blessing, but as a danger from which to defend oneself (F.C. 6).
The Pope asks: In this situation, how can we make the family the center of civilization based on love? He answers: "... we must understand clearly the ideas of love, freedom, sincere gift of person, and his rights. The cancer of anticivilization is utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is a civilization of production and use. a civilization of "things" and not of "pfersons", a civilization in which persons are used in the same way as things are used" (L. F. 13).
The Pope then goes on to indicate the way to proceed to rediscover the great values of the family and,again to see its role.
In the letter to the various heads of state, he provides a description of the family: "The family is part of the heritage of humanity! Moreover, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly states that the family is "the natural and fundamental group unit of society" (Art. 16. 3).
The Pope emphasizes both the equality and the complementary roles of the family members when he states: "in the family, the first value lo live by Is the
equal dignity of man and woman: both. In equal measure. are persons. Man and wpman are called to make their, specific contribution for the common good of humanity. The very presence of man and woman in the society speaks about communion and complementarity."
Only an unbreakable bond can guarantee peace and stability in the family, a temporary bond is not sufficient: "Frequent arguments between parents ... are the sad symptoms that the family peace is already seriously endangered; certainly, it cannot be restored by the sad solution of the separation of the spouses, much less by recourse to divorce, a true plague' of present day society" (World Day of Peace 1994. n. 3).
The Pope concludes in recalling the duties of motherhood and fatherhood as well as the precious gift of life in its conception as well as in its subsequent coming into the world: "We should concen-
trate our attention on the crucial and decisive moment of the passage from conjugal love to child-bearing. and thus fatherhood and motherhood. We should reflect over the moral truth about responsible fatherhood and motherhood and protect it from the erroneous views and tendencies which are widespread today. The man and woman must assume together, before themselves and before others, the responsibility for the new life which they have • together brought into existence. We cannot play with human life. Persons can never be considered a means to an end: above all. never a means of pleasure” (L. F. 12).
Then he speaks of the tasks of the family that have as their focal point thq mission of educating the new generation: every man who comes into the world has the right to fulfill him-. self on the basis of his human dignity. And from her comes the beauty of the family: "All members of the family, each is according to his or her own gift, has the
grace and responsibility of building, day by day. the communion of persons, making the family a school of deeper humanity: 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 sharing of goods, of Joys and sorrows
As an educating community. the family must help each person to discern his own vocation and to accept responsibility in the search /or greater justice. educating him from the beginning in international relationships, rich in Justice and love.
An important role is played by the family living in accordance with the moral norm, so that the individual born and raised in it. will be able to set out ■without hesitation on the road of the good, which is always written in his heart..
"According to the teaching of Pope John Paul II. in the civilization of love, the fourth commandment "Honor your father and your mother" has its rightful place. Here we see the "mutual honor” that children must have for their;
parents and the parents for their children. The family becomes in this way the first school of how to be human, to be together as persons In a relationship of mutual love and responsibility. In the family, there is a process of exchange in which the parent-educators are in turn, to a certain degree. educated themselves. While thef are teachers of humanity for their own children, they learn humanity from them" (L. F. 15).
From his realistic vision of the modern family. Pope John Paul gives his- invita tion: "to all people of our day. so that they will come to appreciate the grandeur of the goods of marriage, family and life; so that they will come to appreciate the great danger which follows when these realities are not respected, or when the supreme values which lie al the foundation of the family and of human dignity are disregarded" (L. F. 23). Moreover, one can see precisely in the times we are living, a positive and wonderful aspect emerging which: is that, in spite of many setbacks, man is going towards the experience of being only one family.