The “Family Global Compact” was presented today in the Vatican, an initiative that aims to increase the sharing of reflections, studies and proposals among Catholic universities to promote the contribution of the family to the economy, to society and to the development of person. Pope Francis: “Generator of the common good not only for spouses and children, but for the entire ecclesial and civil community.”
Vatican City () – “A shared program of actions aimed at bringing family ministry into dialogue with study and research centers on the family that exist in Catholic universities around the world.” This is how Pope Francis himself defined in a message to the Family Global Compact, a new initiative presented today in the Vatican by the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life and the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences to promote “global and integral thinking “On the family based on Christian anthropology.
The Family Global Compact is the result of work coordinated by the International Center for Family Studies (CISF), which surveyed no less than 373 Catholic universities around the world on academic activities related to the family in its contribution to the economy, society, the development of the human person and the common good. From the answers that were collected and from a reflection shared with some thirty of the universities that expressed the greatest interest in the project, a document was born – available on the web familyglobalcompact.org– which identifies some crucial thematic areas and for each of them suggests lines of research for the academic world.
The objective consists of four steps that Catholic universities around the world are invited to take together: first, activate a process of dialogue and greater collaboration between study and research centers dealing with family issues, to make their activities more fruitful. Along with this, create greater synergy, in content and objectives between Christian communities and Catholic universities. On the part of civil society, promote the culture of family and life, so that useful proposals and objectives arise for public policies. Finally, once identified, harmonize and support the proposals that arise so that service to the family is sustained at a spiritual and pastoral level, but also at a cultural, legal, economic and social level.
“In the family – wrote Pope Francis in the message that accompanies the document and summarizes its spirit – most of God’s dreams for the human community are realized. We cannot, therefore, resign ourselves to accepting their decline in the name of uncertainty, individualism and consumerism, which foresee a future of individuals who think of themselves.We cannot be indifferent to the future of the family, community of life and love, irreplaceable and indissoluble alliance between man and woman, place of meeting of generations, hope of society.The family – added the Pontiff – has positive effects for everyone, because it generates the common good: good family relationships represent an irreplaceable wealth not only for spouses and children, but for the entire ecclesial and civil community”.
“I therefore thank all those who have joined and those who will join the Family Global Compact”, the Pope concluded, “and I invite you to dedicate yourself with creativity and confidence to everything that can contribute to putting the family at the center of our pastoral and social commitment”.
