Synod, the Church must give "an appropriate response to the times of today" to the challenges posed to the family
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Before the challenges that the family is facing today - the "dictatorship of single thought" that counter-values that distort society's vision of marriage as a union between man and woman, secularism, the anxiety over the lack of secure employment - the Church must emphasize the beauty of the family and the fact that everyone needs a family, because it is irreplaceable, this means reawakening in people their sense of belonging to a family. The "challenges" to the family and the pastoral response that the Church must try to give to them were at the heart of the fourth and fifth general congregation yesterday afternoon and this morning of the Synod, of which the Vatican provided a general summary.
"The Church wants to give an adequate response to the times of today", said the Brazilian Cardinal Raymundo Damasceno Assis, Archbishop of Aparecida and president delegate on duty as he introduced proceedings this morning. "In a Church that Pope Francis did not hesitate to compare with a field hospital after a battle, we want to go out as pastors to encounter those many families in crisis, to give a response inspired by the Gospel of mercy" We cannot ignore the many critical situations in family life, due to both internal and external factors".
This is the wide-ranging discussion that is facing the Synod, in search of paths and new methodologies. In fact in this regards, yesterday, a proposal was made to draw up a "Handbook" dedicated to catechesis on the family, to strengthen evangelization and today in a meeting with reporters, Msgr. Victor Manuel Fernandez, rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina and Secretary of the Committee for the final message of the Synod, said that even thinking about issues such as that of the sacraments to divorced and remarried "no one wants to take away the indissolubility of marriage, no one wants to weaken the bond: we want couples to be faithful until death, this is the ideal, society needs this message, it is clear, anything else would destroy what is inside all of us. So we are not going to weaken the beauty and strength of the Christian message. But others insist on a realistic understanding which must accompany the suffering of others, even if it means getting our hands dirty, because our Lord Jesus was close to everyone". "For example, we cannot accept an issue like polygamy - said Msgr. Fernandez - out of respect to women: we do not want to turn back the clock on the dignity of women, but we understand special situations where someone converts, and then what should the wives do? Should they just go away and die of hunger?". "It is a situation in which doctrine can never change, and so this prompts us to think further about it".
During the sessions the link between the crisis of faith and family crisis was underlined: the first generates the second. This is because the faith is seen mostly as a set of doctrinal rules, while it is above all a free act by which we entrust ourselves to God. Moreover, the weakness of faith of many baptized often leads to a marriage without the couple having the correct awareness of the sacrament.
This led to the affirmation There was further reflection on the need for greater preparation for marriage, also with special attention to emotional and sexual education, encouraging a true mystical and familiar approach to sexuality. The great contribution of grandparents to the transmission of faith in families was then recalled and it was highlighted how important it is for the family unit to welcome the elderly with solidarity, care and tenderness. The same care must be reserved to the sick, to overcome the "throwaway culture" that Pope Francis frequently warns against.
First and foremost, the debate focused on the Church in the Middle East and in North Africa. Both exist in difficult political, economic and religious situations, with serious repercussions on families. Where there are laws that impede the reunification of families, poverty leads to migration, where there is religious fundamentalism and Christians do not enjoy equal rights with Muslim citizens, there are often difficult problems for families resulting from mixed marriages.
Indeed, in these contexts, interreligious or so-called "mixed" marriages are present and on the increase in these contexts. It was said that the challenge of the Church is therefore to understand what form of catechesis may be offered to children born of such a union and how it is possible to respect to the unknown situation of those Catholics who, united in mixed marriages, wish to continue to practice their religion. Such couples, it was said, must not be neglected and the Church must continue to take care of them. A further challenge is also represented by those Christians who convert to Islam in order to marry: also in this case, suitable reflection is necessary.
The question is not simply interreligious, but at times also ecumenical: there are cases in which a Catholic who has contracted a canonical marriage and is not able to obtain a declaration of nullity passes to another Christian confession, remarrying in a Church which permits this. In any case, without prejudice to the shared patrimony of faith, the need to follow the path of mercy in difficult situations was underlined.
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