Personal Reflection on the XXI Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Family, Rome, 23-25 October 2013.
We came from all corners of the world to shareour enthusiasm for the promotion of the Christian family. The warm welcome of the President, H.E. Cardinal Vincenzo Paglia, and his staff, set an immediate familial atmosphere. Among the invited participants, the kaleidoscopic sharing of challenges, setbacks and signs of hope, brought a sense of purpose and urgency to the discussions.
Globalisation and the current communication revolution are creating new challenges that were unimaginable only a few decades ago and that require careful reading of the signs of the times. It was noted that African and Asian families are generally far stronger than those in the West and also far more numerous. This led us personally to wonder: are we too focused on the disintegration of family life in the West or should we maintain that focus to understand better what may engulfother societies before long and how to prevent it?
The complexities of the problems facing families forced us to focus on the essentials. God is always with families because that is where love is expressed and shared most naturally. We were reminded at times of Pope John Paul II’s challenge in Familiaris Consortio (17), ‘Family, become what you are!’ God created the human person and humans cannot destroy his creation, namely the nature of the person. Modern philosophy has deconstructed the understanding of the person with devastating consequences for family relationships. However, this also allows us to start afresh from a solid anthropology, illuminated by faith in Jesus Christ, to clarify what it means to be a person, created out of love and for love.
Furthermore, the foundation of the family is in a community of love, namely the married couple. Marriage provides the witnesses of a love for which the world yearns, one that is intimate, physical, enduring and fruitful. The attacks on the family come mainly through attacks on marriage. Therefore, the best response may lie in focusing attention on the unique Christ-centred sexual relationship that is Christian marriage. Better understanding of the Theology of the Body should help to develop understanding of a teaching of enormous importance that is very poorly appreciated, namely Humanae Vitae.
There was emphasis also on approaching the teachings on marriage and family with compassion, always conscious of the person, trying to view each one with the eyes of a loving mother or father, rather than of a judge. And the importance of creating supportive parish networks was highlighted. The family in isolation is at increased risk and the witness of other families is invaluable.
We were fascinated by comments and input from both a Jewish and Islamic perspective. Of note was the way in which the Jewish covenant continues to be respected by the relatively simple family tradition of welcoming the Sabbath at the Friday evening meal with prayer and reading of the Torah. An Islamic leader was quoted as saying that the preservation of Christian family life is also important for the sake of Islamic families. Indeed, the entire three days reminded us that family life is an issue for society. It must not be seen as merely a religious issue. Our concerns should be for all families, not just the Christian family.
Similarly, the Charter of the Rights of the Family is a document for the world, not just the Church. We came away with a renewed urgency to look for ways of making it more widely known. The importance of witness was repeated stressed at the Assembly and one of the greatest tools for the promotion of the family is the joyful and relatable witness of married couples with their children. To this end, the participants looked forward to the ‘International Pilgrimage of Families to the Tomb of Peter’ that was to be held in the two days after the Assembly. However, the highlight was undoubtedly the opportunity to meet the Holy Father and to appreciate even better his compassionate appreciation of the role of the family in evangelization.
Ron and Mavis Pirola
Sydney, Australia