“Our homeland is in the heavens” is the title of the message published by the under-Commission for the Family and for the Defense of Life of the Spanish Bishops Conference on the occasion of the celebration of the Day of the Family and for Life scheduled for December 30. The Bishops, according to Fides International news agency, remarked that “we are living in a complex society, where lay culture proposals are aimed at organizing life as if God didn’t exist. We are facing a weakening of Christian identity which also affects the families.” For this reason, it’s necessary to strengthen families by recognizing two important aspects which constitute their identity. The first is the integration between faith and life. “Faith -said the bishops- cannot be reduced to a private experience, outside family life” it should enter everyone’s lives and families. The second aspect is “integration into the Church community since there can be no Christian life on the margins of the Church”. “Only a Christian life, with a strong identity, will be able to transmit faith in these difficult times and to be the shining sign of truth, goodness and beauty of marriage and the family before mankind” is stated in the Message. Among the major challenges that families will encounter to fortify this Christian identity the Message reaffirms the important role of Christian initiation: in order to have Christian marriages and families it’s first of all necessary to form the Christians. Moreover, Christian families are expected to raise their children as citizens of the heavens. In this sense they recall the difficulties existing in Spain for the “imposition of a new moral formation initiated by the Education to Citizenship”. The bishops reaffirm that “this is unacceptable both in its form and merit”. This is why “parents will do good in defending with all possible means their right to determine the moral education they want for their children”. The archdiocese of Madrid promoted a celebration in support of the families for December 30. The Pope’s greetings are also expected.
