As the family goes, so goes the nation
By Dr. Jeff Mirus ( bio - articles - email ) | Apr 07, 2014
When he met bishops of Tanzania making their ad limina visit, Pope Francis outlined the keys to success in a country characterized by too much poverty and an AIDS epidemic: “By promoting prayer, marital fidelity, monogamy, purity and humble service of one another within families, the Church continues to make an invaluable contribution to the social welfare of Tanzania.”
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If we fast-forward to the Synod on the Family this Fall, we will almost certainly find that the same could be said in reference to nearly every country in the world. At least it could be said to indicate the contribution the Church should make. Certainly the results of the pre-synod surveys would suggest as much, just about everywhere. We might select Germany, for example—purely at random, of course.
“Prayer, marital fidelity, monogamy, purity and humble service of one another within families”: Who knew?
Jeffrey Mirus holds a Ph.D. in intellectual history from Princeton University. A co-founder of Christendom College, he also pioneered Catholic Internet services. He is the founder of Trinity Communications and CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.
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Posted by: shrink -
Apr. 08, 2014 11:33 AM ET USA
Don't forget hell. Psychologically speaking, the family is where all of the basic appetites take their form. Children w/o well-formed appetites become disorganized, highly reactive, selfish, impulsive... etc. Of course, with these bad habits in place, it's hard to regulate behavior, or to listen to Gospel message. Fear of punishment & hell, may be the only remedy, but few preachers preach this message any more.
