The Kenyan family finds itself in a very problematic situation. This is what emerged from the Ad Limina Visit of the Bishops of Kenya at the Vatican, on April 10th. Msgr. Salesius Mugambi, Bishop of Meru and President of the Episcopal Conference's National Office for family ministry, has shown that in recent years the Catholic concept of the family has generally suffered heavy ideological attacks from non-African cultures.
For example, NGOs linked to the US and the UN gave support to a culture contrary to the teachings of the Church by massively financing workshops, social networks, and propaganda in schools. In order to counter this propaganda, the Episcopal Conference has drafted a plan that includes opening a Center of family ministry in every diocese. Another concern is Kenya's declining birth rate: the proposal quite strongly opposes policies that are in conflict with the family values supported in international fora at the UN as well as on significant occasions such as the next World Day of families in Philadelphia and the Synod of Bishops.
The need, for the Catholics of Kenya, to "clearly show the beauty of being a family united and faithful in marriage" was underlined by Archbishop Paglia, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, who has urged the Bishops to "teach feelings, respect for women, and the sense of motherhood and fatherhood." He also advised them to reflect on possible ways to explain and spread the teachings presented by Pope Francis in the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium and in the catechesis on family life, which he began last December and continue until the next Synod.
