Brussels, Belgium, Nov 16, 2018 / 10:59 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In the wake of the European elections, a proposal was raised to consider “family” as the basis of Europe’s cultural heritage.
The idea was raised at a high-level conference at the European Parliament in Brussels that took place Nov. 6.
The conference was promoted by FAFCE, the Federation of Catholic Family Associations, that gathers all the National Catholic Family Associations in Europe in the framework of its biannual board.
The conference was entitled “Family: the Ecosystem of Cultural Life in Europe,” and was hosted by MEPs Anna Zaborska and Luigi Morgano, in cooperation with the Commission of the European Bishops Conferences, on the occasion of the European Year for Cultural Heritage.
The panel of the high-level meetings included representatives from the European Parliament, the top ranks of COMECE, and from the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.
The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life participated at its highest levels, with a speech delivered by Dr. Gabriella Gambino, undersecretary of the section on the family.
In her intervention, Gambino stressed that the pope asked her to “collaborate with the Church in reconstructing an authentic culture of life and family within the big challenges posed to modernity,” and noted that the dicastery “is attentive to some of the most delicate current issues, especially with the upsurgence of new forms of so-called parenthood, also as a result of in vitro fertilization.”
Gambino stressed that “family is a source of society because it is at the root of the common good,” but also because “it is the place where the human being is culturally nurtured, and where each of us become every day more human from the first moment of conception.”
Marriage is important to protect the human being. It juridically guarantees two orders, that of sexuality and that of generation.
Gambino explained that “the order of sexuality must be exclusive between spouses,” while “the order of generation establishes the family role that comes from marriage,”
This is the reason why, she said, marriage is not just “a social institution of the couple, it is strong in generating cultural roles that go beyond spouses.”
In the end, the human being is “the subject in relations that need others and a strong bond,” and so “if bonds are fragile, the human being’s need to have roots is not fulfilled. This is why “it is important to work on the political field so that family can be a place of certainty and stability.”
Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg, president of COMECE, stressed that family “is the most ancient foundation on which our society is based,” and it is “the first place where we found protection, counselling, solidarity and altruism.”
A participant of the Synod of Bishops on young people, faith and vocational discernment, Archbishop Hollerich said that “young people express the wish to live in family,” but “despite this deep desire to have a family, young people are scared.”
“Some people are scared because of economic situations, others because forced emigration make relations more unstable, and others are even scared not to be able to live in a conjugal life,” he said.
But family, Hollerich concluded, is crucial, because with no families “the European cultural heritage will not be inhabited anymore, and people will not be capable to create culture.”
Fr. Oliver Poquillon, general secretary of the COMECE, concluded that “family is the natural ecosystem of the human being. It is the natural environment for any person, and for this reason it must be at the heart of our political debate.”
Finally, Antoine Renard, President of FAFCE underscored that Europe needs trust, starting to promote a new cultural life from the most basic unit of society: “Politicians need to trust families and the families will trust them”.
The Board meeting of FAFCE followed the conference. The board discussed about the strategy and the future actions of the Federation.
For the first time a member from Slovenia participated in the Board : the Iskreni Institute. The Italian Federation of Kindergardens was accepted as a full member of FAFCE. Invited guests also attended this board meeting from Latvia, The Netherlands, and Ukraine.
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He seems to be assuming that women are without sin, too. Women can and are often also predators. And this problem obviously isn’t just to the Church, even though that’s the long-standing association in secular minds. This abuse happens EVERYWHERE when there is someone in a position of power and someone in a position of learning and submission. Teachers, coaches, pastors.
The big problem that I see is that because the Church is so vast and the problem has been covered up so much for so long then it’s never going to stop until something fundamental is changed in the law of the Church itself. I’m not saying that priests should be allowed to marry or something like that, where would they find the time, but I am saying that there must be some type of more rigorous screening that can be done to find these predators before they are put in a position of power over a child or vulnerable person. Background checks do NOTHING since these crimes often go unreported.
Anyone other than the vetters of the last five decades…women, state troopers, retired fbi and cia, retired lawyers…all could do better than the past wisemen. I was rejected for jury duty in four Federal cases by defense lawyers because I made a citizen’s arrest. That was some trial. His defense lawyer accused me of strangling him….to which I retorted, “ In the words of a future Pope, ‘ I will not say a single word about that ‘ “.
“women, state troopers, retired fbi and cia, retired lawyers…all could do better than the past wisemen.”
That’s not exactly saying much – a brain-damaged gopher could do better, judging by what we’ve read.
It hurts me that the innocent – good priests, good bishops – are having their reputations tarnished by this.
The abuse scandal within the church is predominately a male on male abuse, so Cardinal Marc Ouellet comments just confuses the issue.
Is this guy kidding? This is an open invitation for some woman either to scoop up a seminarian as a play thing, or make an unfounded accusation. Its interesting how the vatican manages to promote to it’s highest levels the nuttiest of nut bars in the priesthood.(This Canadian most know some German bishops, for sure.) How about, instead of promoting the politically connected, they push for promotion the priest who the people LOVE , knows his theology and has a good heart?