The family, a school in humanity

Three days to analyze the current problems of the family, in social, cultural, political, economic and religious terms, and to offer suggestions harbingers of hope, thereby fostering an area of encounter and reflection to highlight the commitment of Catholics illuminating every aspect of life, personal and social alike, in the light of the Gospel. It was the aim of the sixteenth Congress on “Catholics and Public Life”, held a few days ago on the initiative of the Catholic Propagandists Association in Madrid and the University Foundation San Paolo Ceu. “The family always: Challenges and Hope” is the chosen theme. At the end of the Congress, the President of the Spanish Bishops Conference, the Archbishop of Valladolid, Monsignor Ricardo Blazquez, said: “The theme of the Congress is not just a repetition of the doctrine of Pope Benedict XVI. It is also an opportunity to reflect on the issues affecting the family”. Bishop Blazquez expressed his gratitude for the vocations to marriage and the family, according to Christian doctrine, given the ongoing major attempt to de-institutionalize marriage. Do not be afraid to defend values. Many speeches and panel discussions have animated the Congress. The apostolic nuncio in Spain, Monsignor Renzo Fratini, highlighted the urgent need to “communicate positively the beauty of marriage”. The former Justice Minister in Spain, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, invited to cultivate “not a new discourse, but a new mindset” that will put an end to the “moral superiority” of the left in matters regarding the family and the life of conceived children. He therefore urged to overcome “the fear of facts that contradict politically correct theories”, without being afraid of going against so-called “negative progressivism”, which in the case of the conceived child results in privileging decisions of the mother at the expense of the right to live of the unborn child. The former Minister of Social Development in Chile, Bruno Baranda, emphasized the challenge of families today: to accomplish their mission in a world of change and crisis; but “we have to face these challenges with strong values and standards and this requires a solid education”. Mexican politician Rodrigo Iván Cortés stressed that “the loss of family ties leads to a breakdown of the rule of law”. This, in his opinion, is what triggers crimes and corruption in Central America. “We live in a commercial society that intends to reduce human activity to earnings and consumption”. “Children and young people are suffering”, and this fact cannot be disconnected from the crisis that affects the idea of the family as a result of its equalization with other models of coexistence”, denounced the president of “Manuf pour tous” Ludovine Dutheil de la Rochère. The proposals. At the conclusion of the Congress, the promoters announced a manifesto highlighting that “the family is the union and communion of a man and a woman committed to accept the gift of life through their children”; “it is the principal school of humanity in which parents have the primary responsibility of their children’s education”. Participants condemned “State interference in affective and sexual education of children and young people”. They demanded “laws consistent with the family’s true identity; social policies to support families in difficulty, for widowhood, conjugal separation, disability, age or illness of one of its members; an employment policy that will allow young couples to face the future with confidence; laws that protect the lives of the newborn from the moment of conception until natural death”. “Faced with the serious problems that families experience every day, we hereby express our admiration – states the manifesto – for the generous loyalty of many couples who live these ordeals with strength, gift, faith and love and for the witness of unity and mutual assistance offered daily by grandparents, siblings, uncles, cousins, and by the family at large”.