To work on a shared program of actions to promote the family throughout the world, in fidelity to the Social Doctrine of the Church. These are the objectives of the Global Catholic Covenant on the Family announced in recent weeks by the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
The project will be carried out in partnership with the International Center for Family Studies (CISF) and will count on the participation of various Family Research Centers present in Catholic Universities of the five continents.
From the technical point of view, information will be collected and research will be conducted on the cultural and anthropological relevance of the family, with special attention to family relationships, the social value of the family and good family policy practices.
The Pact is one of the initiatives promoted on the occasion of the Year Family Amoris laetitia proclaimed by Pope Francis; it is no coincidence that the results of the survey are being presented in the context of a closed event, prior to the World Meeting of Families in June 2022.
"At the heart of this will be the work of listening and gathering the information needed to understand the state of family health around the world."explained Francesco Belletti, director of the CISF Center. Each university will receive questionnaires prepared by an international team, to which comments and evaluations can be added.
Listening and information gathering are, in fact, intended to "identify best practices"to encourage the adoption of concrete actions".to reaffirm that the family is a resource for all societies", Belletti added.
This initiative will benefit associations, institutions and the entire ecclesiastical world, which will thus be able to promote and enhance the family as a "social capital of any community".
Already in the second chapter of Amoris laetitiaPope Francis underlined the need to confront the ".new challenges"affecting the family on all continents, as also emerged after the two Synods held in 2014 and 2015.
From the issue of education to economic insecurities, social uprooting and domestic violence, not to mention women's rights and many other issues that are closely related to the Church's social doctrine.
By reflecting and imagining development perspectives, the Pact therefore seeks to identify ways to support and promote family relationships, which are the true "family of the family".strategic resource for the well-being of individuals and the community, especially in conditions of fragility and vulnerability.", Belletti went on to explain.
X World Meeting of Families
In view of the Tenth World Meeting of Families, which according to the wishes of the Holy Father will culminate in Rome (June 22-26, 2022), but which will also be held in a "....multicenter and generalized"In all the dioceses of the world, the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life publishes a monthly series of 10 videos dedicated to the beauty of the family as a pastoral resource.
It is the Pontiff himself who rereads and explains the chapters of the Apostolic Exhortation published in 2016, accompanied by some families from different parts of the world. Each video is accompanied by an aid that can be used for family and community reflection and prayer.
The official image of the meeting has also been chosen, a work by theologian Marko Ivan Rupnik, entitled This mystery is great. In the background, the scene of the wedding at Cana; on the left, the bride and groom are veiled. The servant serving the wine has the face of St. Paul, according to ancient Christian iconography.
The image wants to point out how the sacramental love between man and woman is a reflection of the indissoluble love and unity between Christ and the Church: Jesus shed his blood for her.
