Family Life Today: Under Attack?
by CAPP-USA
The family “exists prior to the State or any other community, and possesses inherent rights which are inalienable”.
(Preamble, D., Charter of the Rights of the Family)
The Family has “Certain Inalienable Rights”
Is family life today under attack? As the primordial social construct, the Family enjoys rights which cannot be abridged, challenged, or usurped.
And, “[T]he Church openly and strongly defends the rights of the family against the intolerable usurpations of society and the State”. (Pope St. John Paul II, 46)
So, what are the rights of families and parents?
They are many and are clearly delineated by the Church: Familiaris Consortio, 46:
Family life today is under strain – it needs to be supported and centralized.
Inherent Rights of the Family
- to establish itself.
- to exist and progress – as a family. (The family environment)
- to intimacy in conjugal and family life.
- to exercise its responsibility in the transmission of life. (Family size)
- to raise children in accordance with its traditions and religious and cultural values. (Parental rights)
- to educate children.
- to expression and representation before public authorities (economic, social, and cultural)
Cultural Rights
- to form associations with other families and institutions.
- to wholesome recreation that fosters family values.
- to obtain physical, social, political, and economic security.
Political Rights
- to believe in and profess one’s faith and to propagate it. (Religious freedom)
- to the stability of the bond and the institution of marriage.
- to institutions and legislation which protect children from harmful drugs, pornography, alcoholism, etc.
- to emigrate as a family in search of a better life.
Economic Rights
- to have adequate means of supporting itself.
- to housing suitable for living family life in a proper way. (Affordable housing)
What Do We Do?
“It is therefore indispensable and urgent that every person of good will should endeavor to save and foster the values and requirements of the family.”(Pope St. John Paul II, 86)
“All those…who exercise influence over communities and social groups should work efficiently for the welfare of marriage and the family.” (Gaudium et Spes, 52)
Next Article – What Must the State Do?
The government also has a role to play. Click here for the Government’s Responsibility to a Culture of Family
