According to Benedict XVI, "the family lexicon is a lexicon of peace". Therefore, "in the inflation of languages, society cannot lose the reference to that ‘grammar’ which every child learns from the gestures and the looks of his/her mother and father". Moreover, "the family, since it has the duty of educating its members, is the owner of specific rights" and, as a consequence, "the rejection or even the restriction of family rights, obscuring the truth on man, threaten the very foundations of peace". Therefore, "those who oppose the family institution, even unconsciously, render peace fragile within the whole community, within both the national and international community, because they weaken the one which is actually the most important ‘agency’ of peace". As a consequence, "everything fostering the weakening of the family based on the marriage of man and woman, everything directly or indirectly hindering its readiness to welcome a new life in a responsible way, and everything hindering its right to be the primary subject to be responsible for children education are objective obstacles on the path to peace". Any time society and politicians do not commit themselves to helping the family, "they are depriving themselves of an essential resource in the service of peace". In particular, the means for social communication "have special responsibilities concerning the promotion of respect for the family". (To be continued)
