Gratitude for the marital and parental testimony offered by many families, yet also alarm over the recognition of de facto unions or access of same-sex couples to marriage. The family was among the topics on the agenda of the Permanent Council of the Italian Bishops, at their autumn session in Rome, September 22nd to 24th. Among other issues, the deafness of public authorities regarding fiscal policies and the harmonization between time at work and with the family, and the permanent formation of priests in a horizon of reform. Finally, the persecution suffered by Christians and, more generally, by religious minorities in the countries of the world was also discussed.
"On the eve of the Synod Assembly—the Bishops wrote in their message ‘The Common Good of the Family’—we intend to speak out about a reality that has regularly appeared in the work of the Permanent Council of Bishops: the family, a communion of life, established by a man and a woman on the public bond of marriage, open acceptance of life. For us Christians, it assumes the dignity of a sacrament; and this is why we never tire investing people and energy. "
The priority, says the Council is "to raise our voices and call for the protection and promotion of the family, and to increase the willingness to engage ourselves, with all our strength, in the service of our people. We know that we are not alone in this journey, but can count on combined intelligence and generous will of those who, sometimes even starting from different cultural assumptions, feel the weight of what is at stake." According to the Bishops, "the stability of the family is linked to that of the quality of the human condition: this is why we never tire of putting up opposition against any attacks on life, liberty, education, the right to education and employment, the real conditions of justice and peace ".
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