The other name of the future

Growth of divorces and abortions, decline of marriages, rising numbers of cohabiting couples, single-parent families, children born out of wedlock, and couples living together without civil recognition, while the age at which young couples decide to get married is rising: these are the elements that distinguish the European scenario today. And this was the situation discussed by the Presidents of the 36 European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) at their plenary at Fatima in Portugal from 3 to 7 October. “If in theory the surveys testify that marriage and the family are the top priorities of the young, in practice marriage breakdowns are growing and the number of couples actually getting married is declining. The truth is that the traditional form of the family is in crisis. In Europe, families are living in a context dominated by an individualistic and secularised mentality, in an environment that minimises the primordial role of the family and subordinates it to the ephemeral and materialistic interests of society. Many people today consider marriage a simple contract between two people”. The situation is compounded by the challenges of mixed marriages (between those of different Christian confessions) or marriages between those of different faiths, and by the phenomenon of migration as a result of which families are in movement, or spouses expatriated to seek work: a situation that is becoming one of the main causes of separations and divorces. “However there are signs of recovery – said the Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe – especially as a result of the demographic question, and the contribution of the family to social cohesion and to the education of children. We encounter ever more young couples determined to remain faithful to their marriage vows and to have children”. In confirming the primacy of preparing engaged couples and spouses, the bishops add that “now more than ever the Church is Europe is determined to reaffirm her conviction that the future of European society depends on the family. Europe will lose its own future if it loses the family”. FORMING CONSCIENCES. A family ministry “not as one of the particular dimensions of pastoral care, but as the fundamental element that impinges on all the other fields of pastoral care: that was the call made by the President of the French Episcopate, Cardinal JEAN-PIERRE RICARD , who is also vice-president of the CCEE. “The prime objective that the pastoral care of marriage and the family must set itself – he added – is to help couples and families to open themselves to the gift of God and embrace the evangelical vision of the couple and family life. It is the experience of being personally loved by God, of being forgiven and supported by faith itself, that provides the foundation of conjugal love and love within the family”. In this regard Ricard recalled “all that is being done by the Churches in European countries in the field of preparation for marriage, support for couples, psychological aid to women faced by the decision whether to have an abortion, support for widows and divorcees. The witness of married couples themselves in this sector is indispensable”. “Preparation for marriage for many engaged couples can be transformed into an opportunity for first evangelization and this requires a greater investment that that of preparing a mere celebration”. This vision of the family and of marriage, continued Ricard, “is not purely confessional and is not addressed at Catholics alone. We are the bearers of a vision of the human person and of marriage that concerns man as a whole”. “It’s the duty of the Church and of Christians to insist on the uniqueness of the family as an institution, on its stability and fidelity, on the child’s right to have a father and a mother, and on the rejection of euthanasia and abortion. It’s not a question – he concluded – just of public interventions but of forming consciences”. A BREAKDOWN OF CULTURE. “The British government realizes the costs – economic and social – of separations and divorces. This consciousness is leading to the need for greater support of the family”, said Cardinal CORMAC MURPHY-O’CONNOR , Archbishop of Westminster and president of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, who described the English situation of marriage crisis. “It’s not just a question of pragmatism but of a conscience that is reviving in the light of the negative results that marriage breakdowns have brought to English society. The weakening of the family is the worrying sign of a breakdown of our culture”. The President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop ANGELO BAGNASCO emphasized: “The Church in Europe is a critical conscience that proposes the fundamental values of life in response to the absolute freedom without ties or responsibilities that is increasingly considered the ultimate criterion also for decisions regarding life and the family. In the cultural and political culture of our time we need to insist that the values proposed by the Church are not confessional but human and universal values”.