"It's not on," Napier said. "It's against
nature. It is against what marriage was intended for - to have children.
That kind of activity cannot bring life. There is no way we can give a
person the right to do something that is morally wrong."
Napier said while there was a vision for
Catholic education, it was equally critical to keep an eye on what was
happening in general education.
He said general education was marked by
violence, lack of respect, loss of respect for traditional values, lack
of delivery of resources and a lack of delivery of quality education.
There was evidence to show that general
education had a vision but it was ideologically based and pushed by the
ruling party.
General education had excluded God,
especially His role in human affairs.
Napier also said there was a campaign to make
churches critical of government.
The root cause of the malaise in general
education resulted from the denial of God.
Napier said the necessary response to this
would be to draw out in children what was in them: the core values of
every religion and in any spirituality.
He said discipline should be instilled in
children from an early age. He called for the use of wisdom gained from
campaigns such as Standing For the Truth Campaign of the the apartheid
era.
"The campaign said we would not submit to
immoral laws. It took the form of defiance campaigns," he said.
Napier said political correctness was moving
people further away from the truth.
"I hear people addressing God as 'He' or
'She'. Political correctness tells us to do so, but is it the truth?" he
asked.
"These are the key values that education
needs to underline. Most young people are searching and looking for
meaning in their lives.
"They are trying to find the key values they
will need to have to appreciate who they are, where they are and why
they are," Napier said.[Back to top]
SACBC PASTORAL LETTER ON MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
LIFE
Dear Brother and Sisters, especially you who
are Fathers and Mothers, Husbands and Wives, Sons and Daughters in
Catholic Families,
On Christmas Day 2005 our Holy Father, Pope
Benedict XVI released his first pastoral letter calling it “God is
Love.” He instructs us to make sure that God’s love is present in
the world, so that “God’s way of loving becomes the measure of human
love”. This is what makes the ideal of marriage a mirror image of the
love of God.
In this pastoral letter we, your Bishops,
want to show that this love of God is at the heart of family life and is
the unique gift that God gives to the Church and to the world through
the family.
The late Pope John Paul II spoke of “the
future of the Church and of the world [as] passing through the family.”
In 1994 the African Synod saw the Bishops of Africa searching for a way
to bring out the main qualities of African culture in an appropriate
description of the Church. The bishops ended up with the image of
“Church as the Family of God”. They reminded us that the family is the
domestic church, because that is where we learn and practice day by day
“care for others, solidarity, warmth in human relationships, acceptance,
dialogue and trust.”
The Catholic Family today.
As we search for the true meaning of the
family in today’s world we turn first to the documents of the Second
Vatican Council, which describe marriage as the way of holiness for the
couple and as the natural ideal foundation of the family.
Following Vatican 2 the Synod on the Family
in 1980 defined the family as an “intimate community of life and of
love.” A family is bound together for life and based on relationships of
blood, marriage or adoption.
In the eyes of that Synod the family has four
specific tasks:
1. to form itself into such an intimate
community.
2. to nurture life from conception to
natural death.
3. to build up society and finally
4. to share in the evangelizing mission
of the church, by receiving and passing on the Good News of Jesus
Christ, from parents to children, and from member to member.
We live in an extremely secularized world, a
far cry from the ideal that we are holding up as Christians. Of
particular concern is the small number of young couples that begin their
life together with the blessings of the Sacrament of Matrimony. Of equal
concern is the number of marriages, even those blessed in Church, that
end in divorce. A third concern is the number of married couples who,
even though they stay together, live so far apart that their marriage
can in no way be said to represent, or even less reflect, the union of
Christ with his Church which is the mystery that the Sacrament is meant
to portray.
Another consequence of secularism is the
erosion of traditional family structures, which are such a necessary
support for the cultures of our people. In the secular worldview sex has
been taken out of its proper context and made into a form of
entertainment. Is it any wonder therefore that there is such a glaring
lack of commitment, immorality and dishonesty? A third serious
consequence is our nation’s ineffectual effort to deal with the scourge
of HIV/AIDS.
To the extent that the changes in the roles
of men and women contribute to the fostering and strengthening of
marriage and family life, they are good and desirable. However, where
such changes lead to increased individualism or where they damage
parent-child relationships they are to be decried and resisted.
How does the Church respond? What does the
Church offer us?
Christians are first and foremost people of
faith, hope and love. This is why the African Synod says: “ With the
practical help offered by strong and committed Christian families,
dioceses will develop the family apostolate as part of their overall
pastoral plan.” The Christian family as “the domestic Church” should
strive to build on the noble values of the African tradition in
particular the caring and sharing across generations which we know as “ubuntu.”
It was to single out this important aspect of
The Family, that our own Pastoral Forum of 2000 gave priority of
treatment to strengthening family life, together with ongoing adult
formation. This falls in line with the rich teaching on marriage and
family life given by Vatican 2 and the Synod of Bishops as mentioned
above.
As a further step to give Marriage and Family
life the importance it deserves, the Bishops’ Conference has set up a
Family Life Desk within the Department for Evangelisation. The Desk is
committed to promoting this apostolate of the Family. Dioceses and
parishes have been asked too to appoint family life coordinators to
promote this apostolate at local level. One of the initiatives is the
current three yearly Marriage Awareness campaign which dioceses and
parishes have already been asked to take up and follow through. The
highlight of this is a suggested celebration of Marriage Day on 8th
October.
Because we your Bishops realize the crucial importance of this work
with, for and by Catholic families, we ask all parishes, through their
different structures, especially Small Christian Communities, Faith
Sharing Groups, Sodalities and Movements to make the building up of good
Catholic families the top priority.
Much is said in society and in the Church about
restoring family values, the most recent example being the TV programme
Heartlines. That is not the task of society alone, but the task
especially of evangelised and evangelising families. It is the task of
the Church as Family of God. That is God’s will and God’s way, for the
future of the Church and the world.
We,
your Bishops, are like Shepherds filled with concern for their flocks.
We believe in this mission, this calling to marriage and family life. We
pray with you for the intercession of the Holy Family for the
much-needed growth in your vocation.
Bishops of Southern Africa
Date. 12 September 2006
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
At the 2000
Pastoral Forum bishops and lay representatives identified the
strengthening of family life in the home and ongoing adult faith
formation as priorities. Pastoral councils, other groups such as Small
Christian Communities and sodalities as well as families in the home can
reflect and discuss the following.
-
What are the most
urgent needs with regard to marriage and family life in our
community at this time?
-
What programmes and
support structures exist in our community for building healthy
families?
-
What can we do to
ensure that marriage and family life is supported in our community?
The SACBC
Family Life Desk can be contacted through 012 323 6458 or
trowland@sacbc.org.za to provide a comprehensive list of movements,
programmes and resources for the family apostolate.
[Back to top]
