This year in his message, the Holy Father, deals with the the most basic and foundational cradle of peace, the family. The document stressed the need for the universal human family to learn from the life and value of the "domestic" family in order to realize the much elusive dream of genuine peace. Here are some excerpts.
In a healthy family life we experience some of the fundamental elements of peace: justice and love between brothers and sisters, the role of authority expressed by parents, loving concern for the members who are weaker because of youth, sickness or old age, mutual help in the necessities of life, readiness to accept others and, if necessary, to forgive them. [3]
The family is the foundation of society for this reason too: because it enables its members in decisive ways to experience peace. [3]
The language of the family is a language of peace; we must always draw from it, lest we lose the “vocabulary” of peace. [3]
The denial or even the restriction of the rights of the family, by obscuring the truth about man, threatens the very foundations of peace. [4]
everything that serves to weaken the family based on the marriage of a man and a woman, everything that directly or indirectly stands in the way of its openness to the responsible acceptance of a new life, everything that obstructs its right to be primarily responsible for the education of its children, constitutes an objective obstacle on the road to peace. [5]
The social community, if it is to live in peace, is also called to draw inspiration from the values on which the family community is based. [6]
The family needs a home, a fit environment in which to develop its proper relationships. [7]
An essential condition for peace within individual families is that they should be built upon the solid foundation of shared spiritual and ethical values. Yet it must be added that the family experiences authentic peace when no one lacks what is needed, and when the family patrimony—the fruit of the labour of some, the savings of others, and the active cooperation of all—is well-managed in a spirit of solidarity, without extravagance and without waste. [9]
A family lives in peace if all its members submit to a common standard: this is what prevents selfish individualism and brings individuals together, fostering their harmonious coexistence and giving direction to their work. [11]
