The final document of the Synod dedicated to young people summarizes, in a brief phrase, a conviction that has always been shared in all times and places. "The family" -reads n. 32: "is a main point of reference for young people". It is an asset and a reference for everyone as it sufficiently testifies to the history of peoples and cultures in different times and places.
Family and society
It is an asset and a reference that cannot be absent in the life of society. It is in the family that the very foundation of society is born and develops. It is in the family where, by common and universal law, the human person begins and carries out his integration into society. So important is the link between the family and society that it can be concluded that the quality of society is linked to the being and existence of the family. Society will be what the family is.
This relationship between society and the family is clearly demonstrated by expressions such as the family is the first natural societythe first and vital cell of society, etc. The family responds to the deepest truth of the humanity of man and woman, to the intrinsic constitution of man as a gift and image of God. But it only fulfills this function to the extent that the family space becomes an experience of communion and participation, through formation in the true meaning of the family. freedomthe justice and the love.
Family and Church
The function "irreplaceable" The role of the family in the development of society, as a fundamental space for the human person, is also essential for the Church. To the point that, "among the many ways that the Church follows to save man, "the family is the first and most important"". (John Paul II).
One of the keys to penetrate the family-Church relationship is the consideration of the family, as a domestic church. Between the Church and the family there is a relationship of such a nature that it can be said that the family is like a miniature church. And since it is founded on the sacrament of marriage, the relationship it originates is sacramental in nature. It moves in the line of mystery and necessarily determines the participation of the Christian family in the mission of the Church. It is "a particular action of the Church"to be considered as own y original. It is not an assignment received from the hierarchy of the Church. This is also the reason why the family, in carrying out its mission, must always proceed in communion with the Church.
What a family. We are witnessing a cultural change that makes it necessary to clearly determine the reality that we want to designate with the terms "cultural" and "social". "marriage" y "family". Not infrequently they are used to indicate forms of coexistence that are even opposed to each other.
It is therefore necessary to determine the way to identify and access the truth or identity of the family. And that is none other than the "meaning that marriage and family have in the plan of God, creator and savior." Because "any conception or doctrine that does not sufficiently keep in mind this essential relationship of marriage and the family with its divine origin and destiny, which transcends human experience, would not understand its deepest reality and would not be able to find the exact way to solve its problems." (Paul VI).
A design of God for the family, the knowledge of which is within the reach of the lights of reason alone: "sinks its roots in the deepest essence of the human being and only from it can it find its answer". But it is also clear that man is not alone in this access to truth. He can count on the help of Revelation, which makes it easier and safer to arrive at the truth. To this end, the recent Magisterium of the Church has made use of expressions such as "the indissoluble marriage between a man and a woman". o "the indissoluble marriage between a man and a woman, which is, moreover, the origin of the family.".
