The family based on marriage “is still the best foundation for the successful life of the couple and solidarity between the generations”, declared Cardinal Georg Sterzinsky. The cardinal was speaking in Cologne on the occasion of Family Sunday that the German Catholic Church celebrated on 14 January and that marked the start of the third and final year of the project: “The future begins here: marriage and family”. “The Catholic Church wishes to encourage couples to get married: marriage, as a stable and equal relationship between man and woman, is far from obsolete: on the contrary it remains modern and in step with the times”, said Sterzinsky, who chairs the commission for marriage and the family of the German Bishops’ Conference. “The protection of marriage, on the other hand, has clearly lost plausibility for many of our political leaders”, he remarked. “So a great effort of persuasion is needed to emphasise the positive contribution of marriage to the common good”. The cardinal hailed the success of the three-year project, particularly in terms of the coordination and union of all those involved in the pastoral care of marriage and the family. He described some of its many activities, which have demonstrated “the commitment, creativity and heart lavished by those operating in the Catholic Church in the field of the promotion of marriage and the family”. Sterzinsky also praised the initiatives of individual dioceses and “the good collaboration with the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZDK) and stressed that “the Catholic Church will continue to dedicate itself to the needs of marriage and the family”. The prime objectives of this final year of the project include, he said, the creation of a network for all activities in the sector. The key events planned for 2007 include an international conference on the family, planned to coincide with the meeting of EU ministers for the family on 14 May.
