The pastoral document of the Bishops for a pluralistic society that defends minors
The Council for Family and Society of the French Bishop’s Conference, chaired by Mgr Jean-Luc Brunin, Bishop of Le Havre, published, in recent days, a document entitled “Poursuivons the dialogue” (“Let’s continue the dialogue”) for projective-operative discernment and guidance with respect to issues concerning the family, marriage and life, addressed in particular to diocesan family ministry agents, with the aim of «continuing the dialogue on the Christian vision of man, the specificity of the Catholic marriage and the sense of friendship», in the context that follows the approval of the so-called “egalitarian marriage” (same-sex marriage), in France, last May, which «has divided the national community». «If the Christian faith—so we read in the paper—is a resource that gives meaning to our lives, then it is possible to listen to one another and to agree on what is today’s source of guidance and inspiration amidst the ethics of a pluralistic and secularized society». The context, in fact, is marked by the enflamed and sometimes bitter confrontation of conflicting positions, including among those who consider the new legislation positively, in the evolutionary sense, and others, like the Catholic Church, who warn about the dangers of the anthropological upheaval preceding a social one. The French bishops express their concern for reconciliation«“between the will to give full meaning to the marriage based difference of the sexes and the wish not to refute gay people and their expectations», while recognizing the «complexity of ethical judgment» in a pluralistic and secularized society.
The document reiterates the view expressed earlier several times by the French Bishops, namely, that «marriage is not merely the love between two people, but it is a social institution, a faithful bond of love between a man and a woman and for the child‘s birth. This institution means for all that life is a gift and that both sexes are equally indispensable to life, and that the bond, which is the basis of filiation, is in the best interests of the child». With this document, the Church shows its maturity by «living in accordance with the democratic requisite» of “respecting laicité” as «an agora where the different views are exchanged in the interest of seeking the common good» and «accepting that their point of view is comparatively in the minority». The Catholic Church is mature on the “social” level, since it both «recognizes that political debate does not exhaust the ethical and anthropological debate on the great questions of human existence» and «continues to promote forms of reflection on the different world visions as well as on the consequences for the life of all, especially the most vulnerable». “Spiritual” maturity consists in «knowing that, not words are important for expressing a conviction but rather the testimony and commitment of life to the service of others, enlightened by faith in Jesus Christ». The comparison of different ethical, social and political perspectives must, however, find its shared foundation in the preference for the good and the best interests of the minors, the “protection of childhood and youth,” as stated in the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and in the French law itself, as confirmed by the Constitutional Council, on 17 May 2013, with the recognition of the interest of the minor as a constitutionally guaranteed right. «Homophobia, like any form of discrimination is unacceptable», they wrote the French Bishops, who defend a conception of marriage as a «stable union of love between a man and a woman that is open to life» and valid on the civil level for best interests of the children.