Msgr. Arrigo Miglio, President of the Scientific Committee, organizer of the Italian Catholic Social Weeks and Archbishop of Cagliari, has recently presented the Preparatory document for the 47th Social Week, which will be held from 12 to 15 September in Turin, on the theme: “The Family: Hope and Future for the Italian Society”.

 

There is an urgent need, in the Italian society, — the Archbishop said — for «a cultural commitment, capable of advancing arguments based on the good reasons that make the family a solid foundation for the common good, rather than an experience of fluid relationships or vague feelings of love»; and, therefore, it’s necessary to start «from the “Gospel of the family” and the commitment of pastoral accompaniment that stems from it». In fact, the social context is imposing «initiatives, from the European to the local level, that aim to reduce or eliminate the unique and fundamental role of the family founded on marriage between a man and a woman and open to life, by undermining its specific identity, while promoting a culture and enforcing legislation that equates every kind of cohabitation with the family». This culture— Msgr. Miglio continues —, which «tends to blot out the meaning of the family», has «consequences on the anthropological level». The defense of the “good reasons” for the family, «first and vital unit of society and good for everyone», is the «guarantee against individualistic and collectivist deviations», and «not a private issue but a social one».
 

The Preparatory document is divided into three parts: the first considers «the deep structure of the family, in which the dignity of the human person and the sanctity of human life are central» and the second «the rapport between the family and society»; the third part deals with «the close interconnection between the family and the dimensions of work and the economy». The Italian Bishops emphasize the «revival of the family’s leading role in social life and in the Church».