Last updated on May 17th, 2021 at 08:55 am
Pillar, Cornerstone, Foundation
How to Celebrate the 2021 International Day of Families
The observance of the 2021 International Day of Families during the continuing devastation of a worldwide pandemic calls to mind Ambassador Michael Novak’s warning of a potentially more ominous threat: “Throughout history, nations have been able to survive a multiplicity of disasters—invasions, famines, earthquakes, epidemics, depressions—but they have never been able to survive the disintegration of the family.”
Ambassador Novak further explained why the disintegration of the family would be so disastrous: because “the roles of a father and a mother, and of children with respect to them, is the absolutely critical center of social force.” Or, as expressed in the Vatican’s Charter of the Rights of the Family, “the family is based on marriage, that intimate union of life in complementarity between a man and a woman,” and, as “a natural society, exists prior to the State or any other community, and possesses inherent rights which are inalienable.”
This timeless truth about the family is as old as the human race, as attested in the opening chapter of Genesis: “God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” The divine blessing upon the marital union of man and woman extends beyond them, for such a family, says Pope Francis, creates the optimum environment “for the child’s growth and emotional development” and results in “a unique, natural, fundamental and beautiful good for people, families, communities and societies.”
No wonder that historian Will Durant hailed Confucius as the world’s greatest thinker for his insight that the world could not be put “in proper order” without first putting in order the family. No wonder that when the wise drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights sought to put the world in order following the most devastating war in history, they recognized the foundational and indispensable role of the family, the only group unit possessing human rights: “The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.” And no wonder that the family is likewise recognized as foundational in over a hundred national constitutions, some of which repeat the language of the Universal Declaration while others use descriptions for the family such as:
- “the basis of society” (Bahrain)
- “the fundamental basis of society” (El Salvador)
- “the fundamental element and the basis of all society” (Cape Verde)
- “the nucleus of society” (Qatar)
- “the fundamental nucleus of society” (Chile, Bolivia, Nicaragua)
- “the basic nucleus of social organization” (Angola)
- “the basic institution of society” (Colombia)
- “the basic structure of society” (Tunisia)
- “the primary unit of the society” (Uzbekistan)
- “the primary and fundamental genesis of the spiritual and moral values of the society and the State” (Guatemala)
- “the fundamental unit of society and the main centre for the growth and edification of [the] human being” (Iran)
- “the natural and fundamental element of society” (Seychelles)
- “the natural and fundamental constituent of society” (Moldova)
- “the natural primary and fundamental unit group of Society, and a moral institution possessing inalienable and imprescriptible rights, antecedent and superior to all positive law” (Ireland)
- “the fundamental pillar of the society” (Afghanistan)
- “the cornerstone of the preservation and the advancement of the Nation” (Greece)
- “the natural foundation of human society” (Cameroon)
- “the natural and moral foundation of the human community” (Niger)
- “the foundation of society,” based on “the stable union of a man and a woman” (Paraguay)
- “the foundation of the society,” based on “the institution of marriage between a man and a woman” (Dominican Republic)
- “the basis of the nation’s survival,” based on “the institution of marriage as the union of a man and a woman” (Hungary)
Nor is it any wonder that, as Ambassador Novak warned nearly fifty years ago, the disintegration of the family spells disaster. His warning has never been so timely, for such a disaster now stares us in the face. “Marriage and the family are in crisis,” declared Pope Francis. “This revolution in manners and morals has often flown the flag of freedom but in fact it has brought spiritual and material devastation to countless human beings.”
Or, in the words of sociologist Gabriele Kuby, it is the “destruction of freedom in the name of freedom” as “good is called evil, and evil is called good,” all part of a “global sexual revolution” which “affects everyone—man and woman, young and old, our personal existence and the future of society” and “reaches into every home and heart. There is no neutral territory to which we can escape” as it “increases its speed and the fierceness of its attack on democratic freedoms from one day to the next.” Employing “the art of deceptive speech,” the revolution marches under the banner of “rights” and claims to counter “discrimination,” while in reality launching a blitzkrieg of discrimination against the rights of society’s natural and fundamental group unit, the family.
It is the ultimate betrayal of the founding principles of the United Nations, which itself has fallen prey to “influential individuals and NGOs that drive [the revolution’s] global implementation,” as Kuby explains: “Within a few decades, the UN became an institution that would use its power and resources to change the image of humanity as declared by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to replace universal moral values with relativistic postmodern ‘values’ as the foundation of culture…. Today the UN and its powerful sub-organizations fight for dissolution of men’s and women’s sexual identity [and] elimination of marriage and family.”
Regardless of how enticing or beguiling the label—such as “sexual and reproductive health and rights,” or “sexual orientation and gender identity,” or “comprehensive sexuality education”—any policy or program that undermines the family and its supporting values must be exposed and resisted. As nations now scramble to vaccinate against a dangerous and often deadly virus, we call upon all to protect against a potentially more dangerous enemy that seeks to destroy the very foundation of society. Honoring the treaty obligation in the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights to provide the family with “the widest possible protection and assistance” may well be the most important thing a nation can do for itself and the rest of humanity.
At this critical time of unprecedented danger, we recommend the words of two religious leaders: “On all sides, the family is under attack. Many wonder if the institution is no longer needed. Our response is certain. If there is any hope for the future of nations, that hope resides in the family” (President Russell M. Nelson). “Every threat to the family is a threat to society itself…. The future of humanity passes through the family. So protect your families! See in them your country’s greatest treasure and nourish them always” (Pope Francis).
International Organization for the Family
Center for Family and Human Rights
United Families International
Latin American Alliance for the Family
American Family Association of New York
Institute for Family Policy, Spain
FamilyPolicy.RU Advocacy Group, Russia
Family Policy Institute, South Africa
Family First, New Zealand
Ruth Institute
CitizenGo, Spain
Provive, Venezuela
Novae Terrae Foundation, Italy
Universal Peace Federation