The family and education

14. AThe family, as a community of persons, is... the first human society. It arises whenever there comes into being the conjugal covenant of marriage, which opens the spouses into a lasting communion of love and life, and it is brought to completion in a full and specific way with the procreation of children: the communion of spouses gives rise to the community of the family» (Letter to Families, 1994, 7).

As the cradle of life and love, the family is also the source of culture. It is the place that welcomes life and the school of humanity, where future spouses are best formed to become responsible parents. The growth process which it guarantees within a community of life and love, in certain civilizations, goes beyond the family nucleus and constitutes, for instance, the great African family. And material, cultural and moral misery can jeopardise the institution of marriage and threaten to drain the very springs of life. When this happens, the family must nevertheless safeguard its basic role as the primary place of humanization for the person and society. As experience shows, civilization and social cohesion depend, above all, on the human quality of families; particularly on the complementary presence of both parents to fill their respective roles as father and mother in the education of children. In a society where the number of people without families is growing, education is becoming increasingly difficult, as is the communication of a culture shaped by the Gospel.

Painful personal situations call for understanding, love and solidarity, but what is a tragic breakdown of family life should never be put forward as a new model for society. Anti-family and anti-birth campaigns and policies are merely attempts to modify the very notion of Afamily» to the point of robbing it of meaning. In this context, forming a community of life and love which unites spouses in association with the Creator is the best cultural contribution Christian families can offer society.

15. Today more than ever before the specific role of women in society is a key topic of reflection and initiatives. In a number of contemporary societies with an Aanti-child» mentality, caring for children is seen as a threat to autonomy and to a woman's possibilities of self-affirmation. This has somewhat overshadowed the rich significance of motherhood. Bearing in mind Revelation's message, which spread in spite of the vicissitudes of Christian history and cultures, about the fundamental equality of man and woman, created by God in his image (Gen 1:27) and manifest in the artistic heritage of the Church, a pastoral approach to culture must take into account the profound change in the condition of women these days: AIn recent times some trends in the feminist movement, in order to advance woman's emancipation, have sought to make her like a man in every way. However the divine intervention manifested in creation, through desiring woman to be man's equal in dignity and worth, at the same time clearly affirms her diversity and specific features. Woman's identity cannot consist in being a copy of man».(¹⁷) The specific characteristics of both sexes work together in a mutually-enriching spousal relationship in which women are the first artisans of a more human world.

16. «The primary and essential task of culture in general»,(¹⁸) education which, since the times of early Chritianity, has been one of the most remarkable areas of the Church's pastoral activity, at the religious and cultural levels as well as on the personal and social plain, is now more complex and crucial than ever. It is primarily the responsibility of families, but calls for the help of society as a whole. Tomorrow's world depends on today's education, and education cannot be seen merely as a transmission of knowledge. It forms people and prepares them for their participation in social life by fostering their psychological, intellectual, cultural, moral and spiritual maturity.

So the challenge of proclaiming the Gospel to children and young people, from school to university, calls for an educational programme for evangelizing culture. Education in the family, at school or at university Acreates a profound relationship between the educator and the one being educated, but also makes them both sharers in truth and love, that final goal to which everyone is called by God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit» (Letter to Families, 16). Education does not simply form individuals, but initiates them into social life and citizenship, into relationships based on respect for rights and duties, in a spirit of welcome and solidarity, and with a moderate use of property and possessions which will guarantee just conditions for everyone, always. The future of humanity will depend upon the fully human development and solidarity of all (Populorum Progressio, 42). In their various different ways, families, schools and universities are called to bring the leaven of the Gospel to the third millennium.