In Chapter 2 of Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation on the family, the Pope discusses the diverse problems and challenges facing present-day families, recognizing that the welfare of the family is decisive for the future of the world and that of the Church. There is thus the need to focus on concrete realities, since “the call and the demands of the Spirit resound in the events of history,” and through these “the Church can also be guided to a more profound understanding of the inexhaustible mystery of marriage and the family.” In discussing the myriad family issues, he takes up some of the pastoral insights by the Synodal Fathers, along with concerns he derived from his own experience.
The Pope also tackles “the tensions created by an overly individualistic culture, caught up with possessions and pleasures, lead[ing] to intolerance and hostility in families,” including today’s fast pace of life, stress and the organization of society and labor, since all these are cultural factors which militate against permanent decisions. This freedom of choice makes it possible to plan our lives and to make the most of ourselves. Yet, the Pope warns, if this freedom lacks noble goals or personal discipline, it degenerates into an inability to give oneself generously to others. The Pope cites, by way of example, many countries where the number of marriages is decreasing with more and more people are choosing to live alone or simply to spend time together without cohabiting. This happens because of the confusion of genuine freedom with the idea that each individual can act arbitrarily, as if there were no truths, values and principles to provide guidance, and everything were possible and permissible. The ideal of marriage, marked by a commitment to exclusivity and stability, is swept aside whenever it proves inconvenient or tiresome. The fear of loneliness and the desire for stability and fidelity exist side by side with a growing fear of entrapment in a relationship that could hamper the achievement of one’s personal goals.
But as Christians, the Pope reasons, we cannot stop advocating marriage simply to avoid countering contemporary sensibilities, or out of a desire to be fashionable or a sense of helplessness in the face of human and moral failings, though it may seem futile. He counsels that what is needed is a more responsible and generous effort to present the reasons and motivations for choosing marriage and the family, and in this way to help men and women better respond to the grace that God offers them. Besides, he further advises, Christians also need to be humble and realistic, acknowledging that at times the way we present our Christian beliefs and treat other people have helped contribute to today’s problematic situation. Thus, we Christians need a healthy dose of self-criticism. For the Holy Father, the bottom line is that Christians have been called to form consciences, not to replace them. He, however, warns that this is hardly to suggest that Christians cease warning against a cultural decline that fails to promote love or self-giving. What is needed, according to him, is to find the right language, arguments and forms of witness that can help us reach the hearts of young people, appealing to their capacity for generosity, commitment, love and even heroism, and in this way inviting them to take up the challenge of marriage with enthusiasm and courage.
The Pope tackles some concrete problems facing families and marriage today, including a mentality against having children promoted by the world politics of reproductive health. Added to this are other factors that also discourage having children such as “industrialization, the sexual revolution, the fear of overpopulation and economic problem and consumerism which may also deter people from having children, simply so couples can maintain a certain freedom and life-style.” Another factor is the weakening of faith and religious practice in some societies has an effect on families, leaving them more isolated amid their difficulties. One other factor that hard presses on family life and marriage are economic constraints and poverty, he adds. The Pope also mentions migration which has negative effects on families.
For Pope Francis, the continuing challenge is to acknowledge the great variety of family situations that can offer a certain stability, categorically stating however that de facto or same-sex unions, for example, may not simply be equated with marriage. No union that is temporary or closed to the transmission of life can ensure the future of society. He also acknowledges the decisive role played by men in family life, particularly with regard to the protection and support of their wives and children. Another challenge he mentions is posed by the various forms of an ideology of gender that “denies the difference and reciprocity in nature of a man and a woman and envisages a society without sexual differences, thereby eliminating the anthropological basis of the family. In the light of these realities, he exhorts Christians not to be trapped into wasting our energy in doleful laments, but rather seek new forms of missionary creativity, he says as the challenge to the Church, because in every situation that presents itself, “the Church is conscious of the need to offer a word of truth and hope…The great values of marriage and the Christian family correspond to a yearning that is part and parcel of human existence.”
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