Why is Family Important?
by CAPP-USA
The True Definition of Family
Understanding the family’s importance requires first understanding: what is a family? And an online search may not help. Many varied and even conflicting definitions will be found there.
But the Church has thought a lot about the family and makes it clear that, at its heart, the family is a tremendous gift!
Why is family important? Because it, founded on marriage, is the foundation of a strong society.
Family is a Gift!
Yes, the family is a “communion of persons” (CCC, 2205) but it is more! “[T]he family is a gift of God”. (Synod Report to Pope Francis, 5)
The family is “a sign and image of the communion of the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit”! (CCC, 2205) It is “the place where [God] reveals the power of his saving grace.” (Synod Report to Pope Francis, 5)
Family reflects the most important and profound reality. It is the image of God who “in his deepest mystery is not all by himself, but a family, since he has in himself fatherhood, sonship and the essence of the family, which is love”. (Pope St. John Paul II)
And the family helps us understand ourselves! “The family is a kind of school of deeper humanity.” (Gaudium et Spes, 52)
The Family is Critical to Society’s Flourishing
Family “is the place in which life — the gift of God — can be properly welcomed and protected against the many attacks to which it is exposed”. (Pope St. John Paul II, 39)
The family “creates an environment in which children can be born and develop their potentialities, become aware of their dignity and prepare to face their unique and individual destiny.” (Pope St. John Paul II, 39)
As “the fundamental cell of society” (Pope Francis, 66) studies consistently highlight that a stable and nurturing family environment positively impacts a child’s cognitive, emotional, and social development. Key findings indicate that children raised in stable families tend to:
- Achieve better academic outcomes due to consistent support and structure.
- Develop healthier emotional well-being, with lower rates of anxiety, depression, and behavioral issues.
- Form stronger social skills and better relationships with peers and adults.
- Exhibit greater resilience in the face of adversity, benefiting from a secure attachment base.
It is in the family that children “can develop in accordance with what constitutes authentic human growth”. (Pope St. John Paul II, 39)
Truly, “The future of humanity passes by way of the family.” (Pope St. John Paul II, 86)
That is Why Marriage is Important
Let’s take a short historical tour demonstrating the Church’s constant understanding of the importance of marriage in creating a family:
1880: “[H]uman society at large springs from marriage”. (Pope Leo XIII, 17)
1961: The “family is based upon a marriage which is one and indissoluble and, with respect to Christians, raised to the dignity of a sacrament.” (Pope St. John XXIII, 193)
1991: When the Church speaks of the family, “we mean the family founded on marriage”. (Pope St. John Paul II, 39)
2006: “[M]arriage and the family are rooted in the inmost nucleus of the truth about man and his destiny.” (Pope Benedict XVI)
2013: “Marriage…transcends the feelings and momentary needs of the couple…it is not born ‘of loving sentiment, ephemeral by definition, but from the depth of the obligation assumed by the spouses who accept to enter a total communion of life’.” (Pope Francis, 66)
Family is the “Answer”!
The family is “where we learn to live with others despite our differences and to belong to one another”.(Pope Francis, 66)
“The family constitutes…a community of love and solidarity, which is uniquely suited to teach and transmit cultural, ethical, social, spiritual and religious values, essential for the development and well-being of its own members and of society.” (Preamble, E., Charter of the Rights of the Family)
Strong civilizations have their roots in strong communities, at the core of which stands strong families.
“The future of humanity passes by way of the family.” (Pope St. John Paul II, 86)
The Family is Under Attack
While most will always agree that family is important, much of society acts otherwise.
How? By creating alternate definitions of family which divorce family from marriage and its true nature (arising in and from God) and by promoting individualism and consumerism. These weaken the family and puts at risk “the future of society as a whole”. (Pope St. John Paul II, 6)
It is not difficult to trace skyrocketing anxiety, depression, violence and other social pathologies to the collapse of the family — that “communion of life and love” (Pope Benedict XVI) and the “original cell of society”. (CCC, 2207)
We tend to forget that “[m]an is not really himself…except within the framework of society, and there the family plays the basic and most important role.” (Pope St. Paul VI, 36)
What Must We Do?
Restoring the importance of family in our culture and laws is critical.
It is “a social and even economic necessity…to hold up to future generations the beauty of marriage and the family, and the fact that these institutions correspond to the deepest needs and dignity of the person.” (Pope Benedict XVI, 44)
“Christians…should actively promote the values of marriage and the family, both by the examples of their own lives and by cooperation with other men of good will.” (Gaudium et Spes, 52)
“It is urgent therefore to promote not only family policies, but also those social policies which have the family as their principle object”. (Pope St. John Paul II, 49)
Bottom Line
We must “Go back to seeing the family as sacred”. (Pope St. John Paul II, 39)
The family, built on marriage and reflecting God’s own nature, is eternally relevant and important.
Getting family right ‘sets the table’ for society’s flourishing.
