Snehalaya Family Service Centre of Bombay Archdiocese - part 2

Bombay Archdiocese in the western Indian city of Mumbai has an effective network of family ‎ministries run by the Snehalaya Family Service Centre.  Its current director, Fr. Cajetan Menezes, ‎also coordinates the family ministry of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia, which includes ‎Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrian and Qatar; as well as the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia, comprising Yemen, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.   Fr. Menezes was invited to participate ‎as a non-voting expert in the 3rd Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops which ‎took place here in the Vatican, Oct. ‎‎5 ‎to 19, on the theme, “‎Pastoral challenges to the family in the ‎context of evangelization”.  At the end of the synod we caught up with him to know about the ‎problems of the Catholic families in Mumbai city and the various programmes that the Snehalaya ‎Family Service Centre runs there.  Last week, in the first part of this interview, Fr. Cajetan explained ‎that the overarching factor affecting marriage and family life is finance and economics.  With the ‎nuclearization  of the family, a newly married couple look out for an  independent home with both ‎husband and wife needing a job to maintain a decent life.  Most often they cannot afford a home ‎close to the city or place of work and settle for something far away in outskirts of Mumbai.   Hence ‎the long hours of stressful work compounded with commuting long distances to and from ‎downtown Mumbai leaves little or no time for bonding in the family.  This rat-race adds to tension ‎leading to conflict, tempers and  frazzled relations and ultimately to even breakup.  Fr. Cajetan says the most crucial period of a ‎family are initial 3 years, when the family can either make it or break it.  Well, to help the family, the ‎Snehalaya Family Service Centre of Bombay Archdiocese runs several ministries and initiatives, ‎such as marriage preparation courses, marriage enrichment workshops with attractive incentives, ‎celebrating World Marriage Day and marking the so-called Second Honeymoon.  Today, Fr. Cajetan ‎begins the final part of this interview explaining the situation of the elderly in the family, who often ‎tend to be forgotten.‎  Listen: