(Jan 31, 2011) Here is brief comment on Pope Benedict XVI’s general prayer intention
for the month of February – that all may respect the family and recognize its unmatched
contribution to the advancement of society. According to the Church, the fundamental
role of bringing up a person rests on the family. As the true school of love, the
family is where genuine values of life are imbibed. Late Pope John Paul II called
the family the “basic cell of society,” saying just as healthy cells make a healthy
body, so too healthy families make a healthy society. Jesus experienced such a family
and honoured the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph. In a message to the Sixth World Meeting
of Families in Mexico City in 2009, Pope Benedict had written: “It is at home that
people truly learn to live, to value life and health, freedom and peace, justice and
truth, work, harmony, and respect.” He called on all Christians to reaffirm the dignity
and the unique, irreplaceable value of the family founded on the marriage of a man
and a woman open to life, and also of human life in all of its stages. Unfortunately
today various forms of pseudo unions such as same sex marriage and live-in couples
are trying to replace the traditional family and marriage. With such social and moral
crises, many families are denied the support needed to carry out their mission of
helping their children mature properly – a phenomenon that is harming society. This
is why Pope Benedict is inviting all to join him in praying in February that all may
respect the family and recognize its unmatched contribution to the advancement of
society