More than ever the family is “sorely tested” and suffering “attacks from all sides.” This is the family’s state of health in Bulgaria, according to the account of the President of the Bulgarian Bishops' Conference, Msgr. Christo Proykov, interviewed by Desislava Tanceva for Vatican Radio on the occasion of the “ad limina” visit of the Bishops of Bulgaria. The process of secularization that is also taking root in Bulgarian society, especially among the younger generation, “is seriously putting into question the foundation of the indissolubility of marriage, as well the very need to get married”, says the Bishop. While many families bear the wounds of divorce, “public opinion in Bulgaria still sees the family—he continues—as the union between a man and a woman.” The Bulgarian law “does not recognize marriages between persons of the same sex, but this current of thought is penetrating even into our society and creating new pastoral needs.” Few couples, for example, live their sexuality according to the teachings of the Church, contraception is advertised and abortion is practiced thoughtlessly: “The cause of this—explains Msgr. Proykov—is often a great deal of ignorance, also due to a lack of Christian education in the family of origin, the result of fifty years of state atheism during which religious education was very limited.” Today in Bulgaria, we feel “a great need for Christian formation in the families. We try to do all we can through marriage preparation classes, courses and regular encounters for families, catechism classes for adults and sessions of formation for young people on the Church’s teaching with respect to these issues. And—he concludes—, this year we plan to organize national meetings of the families.”