Pope Francis showed his support for the compact of families in lieu of the launching of the Family Global Impact last May 30, 2023.
In his message, the Pope emphasized how the family’s role in society is crucial since individualism and indifference to the nature of families has become prevalent in today’s society.
“It is in the family that many of God’s dreams for the human community are realised. Hence, we cannot resign ourselves to the decline of the family in the name of uncertainty, individualism and consumerism, which envision a future of individuals who think only of themselves,” he said.
“We cannot be indifferent to the future of the family as a community of life and love, a unique and indissoluble covenant between a man and a woman, a place where generations meet, a source of hope for society,” he added.
Pope Francis also highlighted that the family has been instrumental for pursuing the ‘common good’ especially when challenges are faced in the communities, policies that may affect the future even in the Church.
“The family, it should be recalled, has a positive effect on everyone, since it is a generator of common good. Healthy family relationships represent a unique source of enrichment, not only for spouses and children but for the entire ecclesial and civil community,” he said.
According to Veritas News, Pope Francis recognized that the initiative of the compact is aligned to his Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia in 2016 which was dedicated to the families. Also, it strengthens the bond within the Church and lay people who may aspire to choose the marriage life as a vocation.
“Solidly grounded in present realities, such a culture would help new generations to appreciate marriage and family life with its resources and challenges and the beauty of generating and nurturing human life. What is urgently needed, in a word, is “a more responsible and generous effort to present the… motivations for choosing marriage and the family and in this way, to help men and women better respond to the grace that God offers them” (Amoris Laetitia, 35),” the Pope cited in the exhortation.
The goal of the compact was to be a centre of studies and research for the “cultural and anthropological” aspects in the pastoral care of families. It has four action points such as the “quality of family relationships, promoting the family as a social subject, public policies for families and a challenge for all.” It is a “collaborative plan” helmed by the Dicastery of Laity, Family and Life and Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences. (By Hazel Boquiren/RCAM-AOC)
