On Monday May 20th, the General Assembly of the Italian Bishops began. In the inaugural address, the President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, Card. Angelo Bagnasco, turned the pastoral attention to the pressings needs of the family, «patrimony of humanity and universal good», which in «a society at the turning point» is «the first and main bastion not only of life, but also of moral energy and social and economic solidity».
 
«How long can the family endure without substantial, incisive and immediate, support policies? », asked the cardinal, indicating in the forefront of the political and economic emergencies the issue of safe and respectable work. Then, he declared: «The family cannot be debilitated and humiliated by such representations that stealthily open a progressive weak point in its identity and are unnecessary for the protection of individual rights, which are to a large extent already guaranteed in the legal system». Subsequently, Card. Bagnasco spoke in defense of the sanctity of the person and of life, which «is not only a good for each person, but also, largely, an asset that contributes to the common wealth» and «needs care all the more as it grows weaker and more helpless».