![]() This must be transparent in our language, in our texts, in our care and compassion for the families of the world. Therefore, the families of which we speak are not alien to us, they form part of our lives. "We have parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, cousins. ![]() "We are all, first and foremost, family men", he said. Amid many difficulties our families gave us the gift of love and the gift of faith".įamily men, men of faith and pastors: according to this view, expressed by Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher of Gatineau, Canada, priests and bishops must guide their pastoral ministry. ![]() What emerged was far from a stereotype of an 'ideal family', but rather a collage of families different in their social, ethnic, and religious background. As members of the group we shared a reflection, each of us on the experience on our own family. The prelate also observes that "an analysis of the situation of the family should recognise how, with the help of grace, families who are far from perfect, living in an imperfect world, do actually realise their vocation, even though they may fail along their journey. This "would help to understand the nature of God's dream that families are called to make their own and to realise that in the difficulties of life they can place their trust in a God who neither disappoints nor abandons anyone", explains Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. That is what it has meant for us to read the signs of the times".Īnother view expressed in various working groups is the need to make greater use of Scriptural language, which "can be closer to the realities of the daily experience of families and can become a bridge between faith and life", avoiding expressions deemed too "ecclesiastical". In considering marriage and the family here and now, we were conscious of the need to address the facts of history and the realities of cultures - with both the eyes of faith and the heart of God. "Nor does the Church inhabit a world outside human cultures the Church shapes cultures and cultures shape the Church. "The Church does not inhabit a world out of time, as Vatican Council II, 'the Council of history', recognised", notes the prelate. There are also forces which are positive, even luminous, and these need to be identified since they may well be the signs of God in history". If it were the full story, all the Church could do would be to condemn. True, there are negative forces at work at this time in history and in the various cultures of the world but that is far from the full story. In general the rapporteurs from the various groups, which were divided according to language (English, French,Spanish, German and Italian) considered that it was necessary to offer, as Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane, Australia, writes, "a less negative reading of history, culture and the situation of the family at this time. ![]() On Friday morning, during the fourth General Congregation, the various Circuli Minori - 13 in total - presented the results of their reflections on the first part of the Instrumentum Laboris examining the mission of the family in the Church and the contemporary world. ![]()
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