Church Teaching
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HELPFUL READING:
Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body - St. John Paul II
Familiaris Consortio (On the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World)- St. John Paul II
Gratissimam Sane (Letter to Families) - St. John Paul II
Humanae Vitae (Of Human Life) - Blessed Pope Paul VI
Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) - St. John Paul II
Casti Connubii (On Christian Marriage) - Pope Pius XI
The Family is Important for Life and Society: watch the video hereQUOTES FROM CHURCH DOCUMENTS:
“The Church knows the path by which the family can reach the heart of the deepest truth about itself. The Church has learned this path at the school of Christ and the school of history interpreted in light of the Spirit. She does not impose it but she feels an urgent need to propose it to everyone without fear and indeed with great confidence and hope, although she knows that the Good News includes the subject of the Cross. But it is through the Cross that the family can attain the fullness of its being and the perfection of its love.”
~ Pope John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, n.86
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“Within the ‘people of life and the people for life,’ the family has a decisive responsibility. This responsibility flows from its very nature as a community of life and love, founded upon marriage, and from its mission to ‘guard, reveal and communicate love.’ (FC, n.17) Here it is a matter of Gods own love, of which parents are co-workers and as it were interpreters when they transmit life and raise it according to his fatherly plan. (GS, n.50) This is the love that becomes selflessness, receptiveness and gift. Within the family each member is accepted, respected and honored precisely because he or she is a person; and if any family member is in greater need, the care which he or she receives is all the more intense and attentive.
The family has a special role to play throughout the life of its members, from birth to death. It is truly ‘the sanctuary of life: the place in which life – the gift of God – can be properly welcomed and protected against the many attacks to which it is exposed, and can develop in accordance with what constitutes authentic human growth.’ (CA, n. 39) Consequently the role of the family in building a culture of life is decisive and irreplaceable.”~ Pope John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, n.92
HELPFUL LINKS
Pope Calls for End to "Conspiracy of Silence" over Wounds Caused by "Grave Sins" of Abortion and Divorce