“A message that is worth reading.” This is voiced by chorus of opinions of those who, having gone beyond the obstacle of misleading and subtle titles (especially in Italy, ANSA, Corriere della Sera, La Repubblica, Il Sole 24 ore, and others), simply went to the Message of the Holy Father Benedict XVI for the World Day of Peace XLVI and found practically a small but deep encyclical. These are then the highly significant passages the Pope's Message on the family.
Peacemakers are those who love, defend and promote life
There is also a need to acknowledge and promote the natural structure of marriage as the union of a man and a woman in the face of attempts to make it juridically equivalent to radically different types of union; such attempts actually harm and help to destabilize marriage, obscuring its specific nature and its indispensable role in society.
These principles are not truths of faith, nor are they simply a corollary of the right to religious freedom. They are inscribed in human nature itself, accessible to reason and thus common to all humanity.
Education for a culture of peace: the role of the family and institutions
No one should ignore or underestimate the decisive role of the family, which is the basic cell of society from the demographic, ethical, pedagogical, economic and political standpoints. The family has a natural vocation to promote life: it accompanies individuals as they mature and it encourages mutual growth and enrichment through caring and sharing. The Christian family in particular serves as a seedbed for personal maturation according to the standards of divine love. The family is one of the indispensable social subjects for the achievement of a culture of peace. The rights of parents and their primary role in the education of their children in the area of morality and religion must be safeguarded. It is in the family that peacemakers, tomorrow’s promoters of a culture of life and love, are born and nurtured.
