Over 120 representatives of the Church, politics and associations participated in a discussion forum on the family in Berlin on 7 February. Under the title “The future begins here prospects for marriage and the family”, the forum was organized by the chairman of the Commission of the German Bishops’ Conference for marriage and the family, Cardinal Georg Sterzinsky, archbishop of Berlin, and attended among others by the Federal Minister for the Family, Ursula von der Leyen. “Prevention of poverty, favourable attitude to children, solidarity between the generations, formation and education”: these, said the cardinal, are the “fundamental claims that the Catholic Church” makes of politicians in the defence of the family. “The current demographic trend also requires a society geared to solidarity”, he added. “Parents must be able to count on society accepting their children with a significantly more positive attitude”. Sterzinsky also emphasized that “the family is the first and fundamental institution of education and formation”. For her part, the Minister von der Leyen gave her assurance that “the dialogue with the Churches on questions regarding marriage, the family and education is of particular importance”, and cited “the Union for Education”, an institution “in which the Catholic Church and the Evangelical Church collaborate under the auspices of the Ministry for the Family”.
