Faced with a Parliament that promotes destruction and distorts the truth about the family, advancing laws contrary to what Natural Law considers a family—a man and a woman, united until death, and open to life— Leo XIV, during his visit to Spain, made an explicit and very clear reference to the family willed by God when He created man and woman.
Leo XIV spoke of the family as the foundation of all civil society and as the leaven for the emergence of a nation. In short, the family is the true foundation of all human coexistence on earth (the phrases in italics are from his address to Parliament).
After emphasizing that: «The common good is, in a certain sense, «the social form of human dignity» (cf. *Magnifica humanitas*, 59). It does not consist in the mere sum of particular interests, but rather in the «set of conditions of social life that enable associations and each of their members to achieve their own perfection more fully and more easily» (Gaudium et spes, 26), writes:
«In this context, the family—the primary human reality and the natural foundation of the community—is of particular importance.».
A society in which families are falling apart; spouses have laws allowing them to formalize a breakup at any time; marriages are not open to life; parents neglect their children’s human, moral, and religious education; and same-sex unions are recognized as «legal marriages,» etc.—is a society headed for death and extinction.
Speaking to families and reminding them that Jesus continues to pray to the Father for families, Leo XIV wrote a year ago: «That prayer of the Lord gives full meaning to the luminous moments of our mutual love as parents, grandparents, sons, and daughters. And this is what we want to proclaim to the world: we are here to be «one» just as the Lord wants us to be «one»—in our families and in the places where we live, work, and study: different, yet one; many, yet one; always one, in every circumstance and at every stage of life.».
«Brothers and sisters, if we love one another in this way, on the foundation of Christ, who is the "Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end" (cf. Rev 22:13), we will be a sign of peace for everyone, in society and in the world. We must not forget: the future of nations is born within families» (June 1, 2025),
"»In the home, generations intertwine, and a living memory is passed down, giving continuity to society.". Human beings are meant to live for many years; this means they become part of a story that they do not build from scratch, but into which they are immersed from childhood. Everything learned through family life serves as nourishment that enables every man and every woman to find their place in the world in which they are to live.
Who doesn't remember the deep joy of a grandmother as she took part in the Baptism of his first great-great-grandchild? If governments enact laws that seek to destroy the family, political power ceases to be about «service» and «seeking the common good,» and instead becomes a tyrannical dictatorship, an “abomination of abominations.”. «Where the family is supported, the spiritual and social stability of nations is also strengthened.».
Governments must learn to use all the resources at their disposal in the best possible way, with the «common good» of all people in mind, and that «common good» necessarily involves helping families with whatever they may need: housing, employment, medical care, etc.
If there is peace in families, there will be peace throughout society. If families pray together, society will pray together—in parishes, religious brotherhoods, and processions—and we will all walk in union with Jesus Christ and His Most Holy Mother. How joyful I have felt on more than a few occasions when entering a home to bless it, seeing a crucifix in every room, and a picture of the Blessed Virgin in the family’s gathering place—She who is the Queen of Families!
«The family will always be the first school of humanity, where—before anywhere else—we learn the basic principles of living together: welcoming new life, caring for others, forgiving, serving, and belonging.».
By forgiving us for the mistakes we may make, our parents are teaching us a lesson in love and understanding—one that helps us learn to forgive, to ask for forgiveness; in short, to live in harmony with everyone around us. We learn to serve others and not to become trapped within ourselves, endlessly dwelling on what might hurt us in the actions of others. In a truly Christian family, selfishness and individualism simply fade away.
And it’s not just about asking for forgiveness and forgiving; in families, we learn to care for others—parents, siblings, close and distant relatives—by reaching out to meet their needs. We put an end to all selfishness and learn to serve by loving our parents, our siblings, and our relatives: their triumphs are our triumphs; their sorrows and pains are our sorrows and pains; their joys are our joys.
The family is the cradle of new life. Older brothers welcome those who come after them with open hearts; older sisters joyfully shoulder the spirit and burden of motherhood that a mother—especially in families with six, seven, eight, nine… children—does not always have the strength to bear.
And finally, remember «the fundamental and inalienable right» of parents to «choose the type of education and training their children receive, in accordance with their own moral, cultural, and religious convictions.».
Ernesto Juliá, (ernesto.julia@gmail.com) | Previously published in Religion Confidential.
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