A filial appeal from Manila to the pope to stand by marriage, family

(Vatican Radio) Filipinos count among the over 400,000 people, including 105 prelates, who have joined the Associazione Supplica Filiale (Filial Appeal Association) in reminding Pope Francis to stand by traditional marriage in the forthcoming Synod on the Family.

Seeing it as the only way Catholics can overcome “ideological colonization,” the signatories explain in a press release a papal intervention is needed to counter the “anti-Christian forces” allegedly undermining people’s moral convictions.

Convinced even slight moral concessions can have disastrous effects, the “Filial Appeal” was spearheaded by concerned lay Catholics who formed a movement of the same name in time for the Family Synod in October. The petition will remain open until mid-September.

According to the petitioners, the Church upholds sound doctrine and consistent discipline based on the Lord’s teachings when facing the “propaganda machine of neo-pagan customs.”

The initiative was welcomed by the public and leading Catholic personalities in the Church hierarchy, the government, the academe, and other sectors.

In addition to demands to the Synod, the “Filial Appeal” Association also circulating a booklet “Preferential Option for the Family.”  In 100 questions and answers, the manual written by Bishops Aldo di Cillo Pagotto, Robert F. Vasa, and Athanasius Schneider, covering the issues expected to be tackled at the forthcoming Synod.

The work has been translated into various languages and has been distributed to bishops worldwide. Due to increasing demands, thousands more are requesting for additional copies to be given to pastors, pastoral workers, and the ordinary faithful.

In the Philippines, at least 47 pro-life and pro-family groups have lent their names to the appeal, among which are Pro-Life Philippines, Rosary for Life, and Human Life International.

The 14th Ordinary Synod on the family will be held in Vatican from 4 to 25 October 2015, on ‘The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and the contemporary world’.

The official working document, the Instrumentum laboris, was presented on 23 June 2015. Its topics include listening to the challenges of the family, the discernment of the family vocation, and the mission of the family today.

(CBCP, AsiaNews)