Vatican at UN youth meeting : Children Need Good Families
Insisting that “each and every young person should be able to... grow and learn...
free from all violence and discord... in a family environment, in an atmosphere of
happiness, love and understanding”, the Holy See took the floor of the General Assembly
Hall on the final day of the United Nations High-level Meeting on Youth.
Archbishop
Francis Chullikatt, The Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations,
reminded delegates that a family is “founded on the marriage between one man and one
woman” and that the General Assembly declares that it is “the natural and fundamental
group unit of society and must be guaranteed protection by society and the State”
(Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Art. 16,3). He commended to their attention
the deep desire of many youth for “personal relationships marked by truth and solidarity”
and for a “family that will remain united”.
“Young people are the future of
humanity and they have a crucial role to play in its future as they enter into adulthood,”
he said. “To do so responsibly, they need a proper education that enables them to
distinguish between right and wrong, virtue and vice”. Noting that the outcome
document of the High-level Meeting addresses eliminating violence against youth, promoting
their health and well-being, protecting the rights of young immigrants, improving
the quality of and assuring universal access to education for all youth, Archbishop
Chullikatt stressed that “the rights of children and young people must be safeguarded
and upheld in full conformity with the norms of the natural moral order”. He observed
that the “mentality of relativism, which holds that everything is equally valid, that
truth and absolute points of reference do not exist... does not lead to authentic
freedom, but rather to instability, confusion and blind conformity to the fads of
the moment with which certain cultures around the world tempt our youth”.
World
Youth Day 2011, to be convened by Pope Benedict XVI in Madrid next month, will afford
young people “an opportunity... to celebrate and foster the importance of the spiritual
dimension of their lives rooted in the truth of the human person”. Over a million
youth are expected to participate in the thirteenth World Youth Day. Listen:
Below
the full text :
Mr. President,
Fifty years ago the United Nations
first recognized the specific contribution of young people when it adopted the Declaration
on the Promotion of Youth of the Ideals of Peace, Mutual Respect and Understanding
between Peoples (A/RES/20/2037), in which the General Assembly affirmed important
principles to help guide the work of Governments, non-governmental organizations and
youth movements to this very day. The Declaration affirmed that all young people should
be brought up in the spirit of peace, justice, freedom, mutual respect and understanding
in order to promote equal rights for all persons and all nations, economic and social
progress, disarmament and the maintenance of international peace and security. Young
people are the future of humanity and they have a crucial role to play in its future
as they enter into adulthood. To do so responsibly, they need a proper education that
enables them to distinguish between right and wrong, virtue and vice.
Mr. President,
Last year, the General Assembly, in having declared the present International Year
of Youth, insightfully drew attention to two important elements for the advancement
of peace, namely, dialogue and mutual understanding (A/RES/64/134). This theme has
been an invitation to listen to the aspirations and interests of young people, to
engage in a mutual exchange with them and to translate these exchanges into a real
sharing of wisdom for the common good. The pursuit of the common good helps the human
family to live in a virtuous manner.
Many young people experience a deep
desire for personal relationships marked by truth and solidarity. Many of the young
yearn to build authentic friendships, to know true love, to start a family that will
remain united and to achieve personal fulfillment and real security, all of which
promise a serene and happy future. The Member States of the United Nations have the
responsibility to help young people in this regard by upholding in principle and in
fact the Charter of this Organization.
Mr. President,
Each and
every young person should be able to be brought up in an environment in which he or
she is able to grow and learn, that is, in a community and society characterized by
peace and harmony, free from all violence and discord. Each and every child, for the
full and harmonious development of his or her personality, should grow up in a family
environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding (cf., Convention
on the Rights of the Child, Preamble). It is precisely this environment which will
promote good and responsible citizenship that is essential to the common good of humanity.
The family is where young people first learn moral responsibility and respect for
others. The family has an important role to play in educating children to develop
all their faculties and in training them to acquire ethical and spiritual values and
to be deeply attached to peace, liberty and the dignity and equality of all men and
women. The family, founded on the marriage between one man and one woman, is the natural
and fundamental group unit of society and must be guaranteed protection by society
and the State (cf., Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Art. 16,3; International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Art. 23,1).
Mr. President,
Parents – mother and father together – have the primary responsibility for the upbringing
and development of their children to help them become virtuous citizens and leaders.
Parents cannot withdraw from this essential role. States are called, in conformity
with international instruments, to respect the responsibilities, rights and duties
of parents in this regard (cf., CRC, Articles 5 and 18,1). Youth policies, programmes,
action plans and commitments approved by Member States must respect fully the role
of parents regarding their children’s welfare and education, including in the area
of human sexuality and so-called “sexual and reproductive health” that should not
include abortion.
Mr. President,
The outcome document of this High-level
Plenary Meeting gives attention to the elimination of all forms of violence against
youth, to promoting their health and well-being, to protecting the rights of all young
migrants, to improving the quality of education and ensuring universal access to education
for all youth, and to addressing the importance of decent work for young people. Member
States have an important responsibility to help facilitate integral human development
so that children and young people everywhere will be provided with the opportunity
to realize their great potential which includes their personal prosperity and that
of all with whom they share this planet. For this to happen, the rights of children
and young people must be safeguarded and upheld in full conformity with the norms
of the natural moral order.
Mr. President,
Many people in the world
today do not have stable points of reference on which to build their lives and so
they end up being deeply insecure. There is a growing mentality of relativism, which
holds that everything is equally valid, that truth and absolute points of reference
do not exist. Such a way of thinking does not lead to authentic freedom, but rather
to instability, confusion and blind conformity to the fads of the moment with which
certain cultures around the world tempt our youth. Young people are entitled to receive
from previous generations solid points of reference to help them make choices on which
to build their lives. The Madrid World Youth Day 2011, convening in just a few weeks
and bringing together the largest gathering of young people from around the world,
will provide an opportunity for them to celebrate and foster the importance of the
spiritual dimension of their lives rooted in the truth of the human person (cf., Message
of Pope Benedict XVI for the Twenty-Sixth World Youth Day 2011).
Member
States and this organization can make positive contributions in this regard and so
must be willing to recommit continually to upholding and implementing the principles
enshrined in the Charter and the internationally agreed foundational human rights
instruments. The more they are able to do this, the more our youth will be able to
help advance the cause of peace, supported by their families, and build societies
based on respect for spiritual and ethical values and directed to the common good
of all.