The family – society’s foundation
Ithink I am not exaggerating when I say that the family is an endangered species. It cannot be denied that over the past few years, the Filipino family has come under unmitigated attack, with the thinking that the family must be put at the service of the nation’s development, as it purports to say that the objective is to put an end to family poverty. How indeed can one debate with the laudable objective of population management which would result in high economic growth, and therefore, put an end to poverty.
The family is society’s foundation. It is a vital cell of society. The family unit is the first natural society, a natural community in which human social nature is experienced, and uniquely makes its contribution to the good of society as a whole. Pope (now Saint) John Paul II in his Letter to Families in 1994 said that “the family, as a community of persons, is...the first human society.”
A society built on a family scale is the best guarantee of stability because within the family the person is always the center of attention – he is the end, never the means. The proper functioning of society is closely connected with the healthy state of family life within it. Without families that are strong in their communion and in their commitment, a society, indeed a nation, will grow weak. In the family, moral values are taught starting from the earliest years of children’s lives, and through this stable foundation, the spiritual heritage of the community and the cultural legacy of the nation are transmitted. In the family, members learn social responsibility and solidarity, necessary touchstones for a stable and growing nation.
We have to affirm that the family has priority over society and the state. Indeed, the family is the condition for the existence of both society and the state. The family possesses inviolable rights and finds its legitimization in human nature, and not in being recognized by the state. The family does not exist for society or the state, but rather, society and the state exist for the family.
Hence, government, notwithstanding its secular concern for the nation’s economic development, does not have the right to take away from the family the right to procreate, to perform tasks it can do for itself (such as the bringing up and education of its children), to preserve its permanence. Rather than the spate of bills advocating divorce, contraception and abortion, government should rather “undertake the duty to sustain the family and ensure that it has all the assistance it needs to fulfil properly its responsibilities.” (John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio).
When Pope Francis was here in 2015 he cautioned the Philippines against the “mischievous” interpretation of reproductive health and similar terms, particularly in view of forces in the international community that apply great pressure on our lawmakers “to adopt wholesale a legal worldview which was decried as the ‘Culture of Death’ by Pope John Paul II.” He praised the Philippines for being a great supporter of the “Culture of Life,” encouraging us to remain vigilant and prevent the destruction of human life, and thence the family.
In his Encyclical Letter Lumen Fidei, Pope Francis stated that “the first setting in which faith enlightens the human city is the family...in the family, faith accompanies every age of life, beginning with childhood: children learn to trust in the love of their parents.”
The Filipino family, and hence Philippine society is in a difficult transition period. The Philippines as a whole, continues to value marriage between man and woman, the nuclear and extended family. However, globalization’s impact on poor families has resulted in broken families due to migration and overseas employment of one or both parents (as noted by Cardinal Tagle). Population control programs are being foisted on the poor by the government, thus undermining family values with a “new morality”, damaging our sense of the sacred.
Indeed, Catholic social teaching stresses that the family is the foundation of society and the Church: “the family is the place where different generations come together and help one another to grow wiser and harmonise the rights of individuals with the demands of social life: as such it constitutes the basis of society.” (Gaudium et Spes)
If we truly love our country, if we dream of a just and humane Philippine society, then we must act to strengthen our family base. Of course government and business must work together to bring about an increase in employment, production, and investment – this is not a contradiction in terms, for families are the first beneficiaries as well as the main contributors to a country’s economic progress. When government is the first proponent for destroying its base, then the very fabric of the nation’s existence is unravelled.
Economic development cannot take precedence over human development. A nation must ensure that its very core, its nucleus, its foundation, its very heart – the family – must be supported and strengthened. merci.suleik@gmail.com The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of FINEX.