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3.3. Work and the Family
25. As both a right and a duty,29 work expresses
and fulfills the dignity of human beings. It demonstrates their ability to
dominate the world around them; it contributes to the development of their
personality,30 and makes the growth of civilization
possible. The whole of society and the organizations and policies of the States
must generate conditions that will lead to making it possible for everyone to
work. We cannot forget that "work constitutes a foundation for the
formation of family life, which is a natural right and something that
man is called to. These two spheres of values—one linked to work and the other
consequent on the family nature of human life—must be properly united and must
properly permeate each other. In a way, work is a condition for making it
possible to found a family, since the family requires the means of subsistence
which man normally gains through work".31
26. The specific contribution that a father and a mother
offer through their work to society should be recognized. What a mother
contributes to the family and through it to society deserves greater attention;
moreover, this has attracted the attention of some of the most distinguished
thinkers of our times. This specifically maternal contribution can be seen more
obviously in the area of up-bringing, health, education, religious formation
and all the activities that affect the well being of the family and its
members. John Paul II has stressed the importance of this contribution many
times.32 Naturally, emphasis on the mother's contribution
should not overshadow the importance of the father's specific contribution
because their contributions are complementary.
27. Concretely, in a family, a man and a woman complement one
another's work and cooperate with one another for the full realization of their
conjugal life and the upbringing and well being of their children.
Keeping in mind that motherhood—together with fatherhood—is part of the most
excellent gift from the Creator to humankind, namely, the transmission of life,
the organization of society and the laws of the States should make it possible
for the structure and the remuneration of work to aid women in fulfilling their
vocation as mothers, and in the gestation and up-bringing of their children.33
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