Commentary on Pope Francis‘ Catechesis of Wednesday 20 May 2015
On several occasions Pope Francis has addressed his words to the parents, recalling God‘s plan and how to be true to His Word. On Wednesday, he began and concluded by quoting the well-know verses from Letter to Colossians (3:20-21): "Children obey your parents because that pleases the Lord; parents do not exasperate your children so that they will not be discouraged."
Between obedience and educating in the virtue of obedience, the Pope told a personal anecdote to recall an irreplaceable role of parents in the family: the education of the children. He indicated that, today, the educational pact between the family and civil society is broken. This is caused by a harsh reality, that of "experts" who have broken into education, replacing the work of parents. These "professionals of education" have studied so much that parents are now obliged to consult them. In some countries, parents can even be taken to court for not listening to them. The Pope warned about the social issue on the global level and about its catastrophic consequences in the medium and long term. We will have children of a system that did not educate them and a family that has not assumed its indispensable role. He spoke especially to parents who, for various reasons, are separated. Without condemning this situation, his insisted very clearly and repeated three times: Never, never ever use a child as a hostage to speak ill of the other person. He also recalled the serious case of families focused on their professional life in order to meet the increasing demands of material things needed by their children, while love and everything else seems to be concentrated on giving things. The Pope reminded us that the most important thing to give is time and the good example. When, he emphasized that parents should be the main authors of their children‘s education, insisting that they should not delegate their primary vocation. I quote his words: "‘Intellectual critics‘ of every kind have silenced parents in countless ways, in order to protect the younger generations from—real or presumed—damage of family education. The family stands accused, among other things, of being authoritarian, of favoritism, of conformism, of the emotional repression that generates conflict." And then he asked us how long the family, feeling accused by a society that claissifies everything under scientific rigor, will let itself be driven, even to the point of feeling "guilty" because it lives in the tension between affection and requirements. I have been touched to learn about experiences where families were truly approached through prayer; and, perhaps, when this happens, when the experiences of values are truly practiced and developped, the consequence is virtuous lives. Mom and Dad, start taking time to pray with your children again; that is what will remain forever. The concluding words of his catechesis cannot be explained, but only rendered by what he actually said. However, I want to emphasize something very important: the "exile" into which many parents have fled in order to avoid having to deal with the education of their children, especially on issues that touch them directly. Unsure dads and moms, come back from exile to care for your disappointed children: "I ask the Lord to give Christian families the faith, freedom and courage necessary for their mission. If family education rediscovers the pride of its leadership, many things will change for the better, for unsure parents and for disappointed children. It is time for fathers and mothers to come back from their exile—for they have exiled themselves from educating their children—and to fully reassume their educational role. We pray that the Lord may give this grace to parents of not remaining exiled from the education of their children. Now, this can only be done with love, tenderness and patience."
By Brother Ricardo Grzona, frp President of the Ramón Pané Foundation