«We wanted the Pontifical Council for the Family to get out beyond the enclosure of intra-ecclesial communications in order to spread the focus on a theme, that of the family, which affects everyone, just as peace does». With these words, Msgr. Vincenzo Paglia, President of the PCF, began his intervention at the conference in the Press Office of the Holy See, on Friday, September 20th, for the presentation of the initiatives—especially the International Work-Conference of jurists on the theme “The Rights of the Family and the Challenges of the Contemporary World” that just ended at the Pontifical Urbaniana University—on the 30th anniversary of the Charter of the Rights of the Family, edited by the Department, on behalf of the 1983 Synod of Bishops, and reissued this year with the Libreria Editrice Vaticana in five languages (Italian, English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese). «The value of the Charter does not reside in the invention of new principles, but in the fact that it offers an organic synthesis, in technical legal terms, of the principles of the Christian tradition, and presents them sub luce iurisprudentiae to the international community and the whole Church, for those principles are still valid today», Msgr. Paglia said. Many values that the Archbishop recalled are universally binding: the right of children to be protected from the invasion of new technologies and, above all, of the social networks; the opportunity to create associative networks between families that permit a better defense of the rights of the family as an independent legal entity, which is not reducible to its members; economic aid from the State in the event of unemployment of spouses and difficulties to support the family; the right to a decent wage, sufficient for supporting all the children and ensuring their fundamental rights, including education; the right to decent housing that is suitable for the number of members in the household; the recognition of women’s domestic work, and policies to reconcile work outside the home with the family’s life. «These are values and principles that must not remain merely beautiful words on paper, but they have to become concretely applied rights», said the President of the Council, as he showed one of the drawings made by the children in Italian primary schools, who were called on to illustrate the articles of the Charter (starting this week they will be put on the site on a bi-weekly basis). In particular, two pictures: in one, the little artist commented: «It is great to have a home!» and, in another, to those outside the house, he said: «Come, we’ll welcome you». «No one ever talks about this family, yet in times of crisis it’s the one that keeps the country on its feet», concluded Msgr. Paglia, who recalled the Dicastery’s next appointment: The Pilgrimage of the Families to the Tomb of St. Peter, on October 26th and 27th.

 

«In recent years, we have witnessed a great change: not just the practicality of the family in the Christian conception has been questioned, but even its validity. The family was a solid structure but contemporary culture has broken it down into many pieces that are now used for different constructions. There are so many pieces, but the structure no longer exists», Card. Francesco Coccopalmerio, President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, said in his intervention. «We therefore need a reflection and deepening of the anthropology of the person and of the gift, in order to understand the Christian doctrine of marriage and the family, so that it may be shared even by those who do not share our faith.” It indeed happens, said the cardinal, that “even those who do not believe in God, often trust in the process of the humanization and principles of Christian doctrine».

 

«There is on-going de-institutionalization of family and of the role of women in marriage», Professor Helen Alvaré, Professor of Family Law at George Mason University in Washington, said. In social policy, gender equality is often interpreted as a “de-feminization” of women. The issue, for example, is to «ensure that married women with children can have the same access and participation in the world of labor as childless men, without imposing the latter’s rules and forms». In the crisis of the family that we are experiencing, for Alvaré, «the Catholic Church has a great opportunity and great resources—including the Charter of the Rights of the Family—to reaffirm the value of marriage as an indissoluble union between a man and a woman who take care of their children, whose primary interest must prevail». The Catholic Church, in fact—says Alvaré—is «a credible witness of humanity, of charity, of love, of the promotion of the role of women and of the family».