Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi, Bishop Emeritus of San Cristóbal de Las Casas and responsible for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM), offers Exaudi readers his weekly article.

FACTS

I have known countless families, from very diverse social and economic backgrounds, mostly poor and middle class, who raise their children well, even if they can’t afford everything they need. They do so, not so much with words and advice, but with the example of their own lives. The children learn respect for others, honest work, mutual tolerance, and the priority of family and God. Over time, some of the children may fall in with bad company, or be led astray by the greed for money, alcohol or drugs, or sexual excesses, but in their hearts they carry the values ​​they received at home, and sooner or later they come to their senses and return to the right path they learned there.

Conversely, I have also encountered families broken apart by domestic violence, marital infidelity, or the prolonged and constant absence of a father or mother who leaves home to work with the best intentions of providing for their family, but whose children grow up without their parents’ guidance. They feel alone, unprotected, unaccompanied, misunderstood, and uncorrected, exposed to bad influences, even to being recruited by organized crime, which offers them money, weapons, membership, and the prestige of social power. Many of those who commit various crimes come from dysfunctional families.

Now that Christmas is approaching, it’s striking that Jesus, the Son of God the Father, was born, raised, and lived with a humble family in a town with little social standing. He respected and obeyed his parents, who reproached him for not considering them when he stayed in Jerusalem without informing them. Until the age of 30, he remained at home working like everyone else; and when he began preaching in various places, he always kept his family in mind.

LIGHTNING

We, the Mexican bishops, concerned about the situation in our country, discussed several issues that I have shared with you in my articles of recent weeks. We also addressed something fundamental that may explain the root of many evils: the destruction of the family. We committed ourselves to strengthening our family ministry as a priority. We said:

“THE FAMILY: THE WOUNDED HEART OF SOCIETY. 

This entire troubling reality begins within the family: a society that fails to protect the family leaves itself vulnerable. What we are experiencing is a systematic breakdown of the family structure, which inevitably leads to social breakdown.

The data is alarming, and we cannot ignore it: broken families, domestic violence and violence in schools, addictions that are destroying the lives of young people. Behind the statistics are the faces of real people with no future.

We need to raise our prophetic voices when public policies threaten the family. Current educational policies are being implemented without genuine dialogue with parents and other stakeholders in education. An anthropological vision alien to the integral dignity of the human person is being promoted, subtly and sometimes explicitly. An ideology that relativizes the complementarity of man and woman, dilutes sexual identity, and presents as ‘progress’ what is actually the deconstruction of human nature is being introduced into schools. A political ideology of social confrontation, which leads to nothing good, is also being added. And when parents and other members of society express their concerns, they are dismissed as ‘conservatives,’ ‘reactionaries,’ or ‘enemies of rights.’ They are denied the fundamental right to actively participate in their children’s education. They are told that the State knows better than they do what their children need to learn.

Brothers and sisters, this is not merely an educational issue. It is an anthropological, ethical, and ultimately, moral one. For at stake is the very vision of what it means to be human. What is man? What is woman? What is family? What is society? Who has the authority to define these realities? The State? The dominant ideology? Or the truth inscribed in human nature and revealed by God?

One of our pastoral priorities must be the holistic accompaniment of families. We cannot limit ourselves to preparing couples for marriage and then abandoning them to their fate. We need a robust family ministry that accompanies families through all stages of their lives, strengthens them in the face of crises, and illuminates them with the light of the Gospel.”

ACTIONS

Let us cherish our families above all else. Let parents remain united, despite the inevitable challenges; let them teach their children, through example, tolerance, respect, forgiveness, hard work, sharing household chores, a relationship with God, and compassionate support for those who suffer physically or emotionally. The peace and harmony of our communities depends on our families, not solely on the current government.