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The family becomes a big social issue
The family becomes a big social issue

The the family has become the big social issue, has found the third Social Week held in Costa Rica, which was attended by Bishop Jean Laffitte, secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Family.


Author: Monsignor Laffitte, information of Ana Cecilia Espinosa and Fernando Rodríguez | Source: Zenit.org



The family becomes a big social issue 
 
The family becomes a big social issue 
Monsignor Laffitte in the Social Week of Costa Rica 
 
SAN JOSÉ, Sunday, November 14, 2010 (ZENIT.org).-The the family has become the big social issue, has found the third Social Week held in Costa Rica, which was attended by Bishop Jean Laffitte, secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Family. 
 
In the meeting, whose theme was "for Life and Family," Monsignor Laffitte said that "marriage and family represent the values of the future." 
 
The Social Week was celebrated on the occasion of the fifteenth anniversary of the encyclical of John Paul II Evangelium Vitae and sought to reflect on the many threats that today suffer the life, dignity, and rights of the human person, and also the family as a natural institution. 
 
Monsignor Laffitte intervened with a paper on "The action of the Church for marriage and family in the context of relativism", to see that family and marriage represent the values of the future, despite the constant attacks that suffer the Family institution in the legislations. 
 
"It is human love an experience that corresponds to the deepest aspirations of the heart of man and woman," he said. 
 
He also added that the desire to have children and educate them makes possible such fundamental aspirations in the family: "Therefore, the greatest challenge that the family has, today, is to preserve the hope that it is living something good and true, full of immutable values, as It is conjugal and family communion; young people should not be discouraged, because they are immersed in a difficult context of the relativism of values; they are called to testify the strength of their hope in love." 
 
It also illustrated the intimate relationship between the family and the common good of society, since the family naturally fulfills many functions of assistance to minors and neediest, as well as progressive integration into society. 
 
"Who defends marriage and family," said the secretary of the dicastery of the Holy See, recognizing that Costa Rica, in particular, has always sought to protect the value of human life from the moment of conception. 
 
The Social Week, organized by the university John Paul II, the Joint Institute of Social Assistance (IMAS), the National Commission of Family Pastoral of Costa Rica, the Association for Life and the Institute for Marriage and Family, was developed according to the scheme see-judge-act between 26 and 28 October. 
 
The opening ceremony took place on Tuesday 26th and was attended by Monsignor Laffitte, Archbishop Pierre Nguyên Van Tot, Apostolic Nuncio in Costa Rica, at the main table. Father Emilio Garreaud, rector of the university John Paul II, and father Claudio Solano Cerdas, president of the Social Weeks in Costa Rica. 
 
See 
 
On the first day, dedicated to seeing, a presentation was made of the main threats that life and family suffer in our time. The first conference had the theme "Threats to life and family in today's world: balance of situation" and was pronounced by the P.R. 
Juan Carlos Chávez, Director for Latin America of Redes Vida of Human Life International. The second conference was in charge of Luis Fernando Calvo, president in Costa Rica of the Association for Life and had the theme "The ideologies and power groups behind the aggression against life and the family: historical perspective and present". The day closed, Dr. Viviana Martín, a member of the Legislative Assembly who presented the "social problems in Costa Rica around the life, dignity, and rights of the person and the family." 
 
Judge 
 
The second day, on Wednesday 27, was dedicated to judging and in it, they wanted to offer different illuminations from the faith and the reason to face the threats that life and family suffer. The reflection of the day was divided into two parts, a first devoted to the topic of marriage and family; and a second, dedicated to the topic of life, dignity, and rights of the human person. In each of them, the main conference was presented accompanied by a panel in which particular themes were developed.
 
After the initial prayer that was in charge of Monsignor José Francisco Ulloa, Bishop of Carthage and President of the National Commission of Pastoral Family, the main conference of the first part that was pronounced by Monsignor Laffitte took place. Father Jorge Pacheco, professor of Moral Theology at the Catholic University of Costa Rica opened the panel of the first part with a detailed exhibition of "The concepts of ´natural family ´ and ´ natural marriage ´". Then the specialist in family, Mauren Coto, presented the "Catholic view of homosexuality". Finally, journalist Gabriela Zamora explained the "Gender ideology". 
 
After the recess, the second main conference was held, with the theme of the "Inalienable value of life; dignity and rights of the human person in the light of faith and reason", which was in charge of Dr. Eduardo Lizano Fait, president of the Academy of Central America. In the panel that accompanies this conference, Dr. Rodrigo Álvarez Revela, microbiologist and bioethicist, who developed the theme of "The beginning and the end of life in the light of science", participated. Don Rafael Ísmodes Cascón, Superior of the Sodalicio of Christian Life in Costa Rica who reflected on "the concept of person, history and implications"; and the lawyer Alexandra Loría who closed the panel and the activities of the second day with an exhibition about "the person and their rights from a legal perspective." 
 
Act 
 
The third and last day was dedicated to acting and in it, they wanted to propose some ways of action in the defense of life and family. The day began with a heartfelt initial prayer directed by Father Claudio Solano Cerdas in which he exhorted all present to commit themselves decisively and actively in defending the life and family in Costa Rica. 
 
After the prayer, came the intervention of Dr. Fernando Marín, Minister of Social Welfare and Family of Costa Rica, who presented the "Program of comprehensive care for families in extreme poverty." 
The second conference of the day was titled "Towards a true culture of life and the family" and was pronounced by Monsignor Oswaldo Azua, assistant Bishop of Maracaibo. Dr. Jorge Guillermo Portela, a professor at the Catholic University of Argentina, was in charge of the third conference in which he reflected on "political and legal action in defense of life and the family." Finally, the reflections ended with a panel about personal responsibility in the defense of life and the family in which the role of politicians "was presented by the lawyer Rita Chaves, deputy of the Legislative Assembly; the role of the educators by Dr. Guillermo Malavassi, rector of the Autonomous University of Central America; and the responsibility of the parents by the husbands Carlos Sánchez and Elvira Saborío, members of the Christian Life Movement.








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