Pope Francis meeting participants at the European Parents Association general conference.
Agency report
Pope Francis has reiterated the need to protect the right of parents to raise and educate their children consistent with their convictions. They should not be constrained “in any sphere, particularly in that of schooling, to accept educational programmes contrary to their beliefs and values,” he said.
On Saturday, the Pope addressed participants in the General Assembly and Conference of the European Parents’ Association taking place in Rome on 10-11 November. He stressed that “the fundamental role of parents in the social order” must “be acknowledged at every level.”
A demanding task, especially in present cultural context
Pope Francis noted that the educational mission of parents is a demanding task, especially in today’s “cultural context, at least in Europe, marked as it is by ethical subjectivism and practical materialism.”
“Parents thus find themselves constantly having to show their children the goodness and reasonableness of choices and values that can no longer be taken for granted, such as the importance of marriage and the family, or the decision to accept children as a gift from God.”
Faced with these difficulties, Pope Francis highlighted the importance of “mutual support and encouragement, so that parents can be helped to develop a ‘passion’ for their educational mission”, which essentially amounts to teaching their children “what it means to be fully human.”
A vital contribution to building a “healthy society”
This mission “can be said to be successful when children come to realize the beauty of life” and “grow confident and enthused about the prospect of embarking on the adventure of life,” which, said the Pope, “presupposes the deeper realization of God’s immense love for us.”
Indeed, “when we realize that at the root of our being is the unconditional love of God our Father, then we see clearly that life is good, that being born is good, and that loving is good.”
“This is the lofty educational mission of parents: to form free and generous persons who have come to know God’s love, and to bestow freely on others what they themselves have received as a gift.”
These are also the foundations of a “healthy society”. Hence the crucial role of parents in transmitting values, thus forming “solid citizens capable of contributing to the workplace, civic affairs, and social solidarity.”
“Raising a child represents a genuine contribution to society,” he said, “because it means training a young person in sound and respectful relationships with others, a readiness to cooperate in view of a shared goal, responsibility, a sense of duty and the value of sacrifice for sake of the common good.”
“Lacking this”, Pope Francis remarked, “children grow up as ‘islands,’ disconnected from others, incapable of a common vision, and accustomed to considering their own desires as absolute values. As a result, society ‘deconstructs’, grows impoverished, and is progressively weakened and dehumanized.”
Source: Vaticannews
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