Christian Marriage and Family: Core Principles and Modern Challenges

Christian Family and Marriage: Core Principles

The Christian Conception of Family

• The family serves as the initial cell of social life, where individuals learn moral values and the proper use of freedom.
• The relationship between the State and the Family is based on subsidiarity: the State should provide support without usurping the family's functions.
• The concept of building a family is intrinsically linked to love, as it forms the foundation of matrimony. It is a lifelong commitment to a partner with whom one builds a family and provides for its needs.
• The sexual relationship is a participation in the co-creation of life. Men and women complement each other in every way.
• A primary goal of marriage is procreation.
• Marriage benefits the community.
• Marriage is a profound way to serve God.

Fundamental Family Rights

• The right to work and earn a decent wage, which is essential for the family's existence.
• The right to intimacy.
• Recognition of its identity, including the right to educate children according to its traditions.
• Physical and social security.
• The right to emigration.

Children's Rights within the Family

• Children have the right to be born into a stable family environment, protected from issues like child trafficking and child labor.

Family and Love in Christian Teaching

• Love in the family is not solely about sexual desire, but also about a lifelong commitment to each other.
• God is the 'transcendent third,' representing the spiritual dimension of the relationship.
• God creates every human person through love and calls them to love.

The Sacrament of Christian Marriage

• Marriage is a natural and supernatural gift.
• Between two baptized individuals, it is a sacrament, representing the highest communion.
• Spouses assist each other in growing in holiness and guiding each other toward Heaven.
• It is faithful, loyal, and exclusive. Fidelity is key.
• Spouses complement each other physically, mentally, and ontologically.
• The union of man and woman can lead to procreation. This union brings dignity as it aligns with God's plan.

Obstacles to Christian Marriage and Family Life

Individualism's Impact on Family

• Individualism is the foundation of many obstacles, deeply rooted in contemporary social, political, and economic theories.
• DINKs (Double Income, No Kids): A lifestyle often aimed at comfortable, self-complacent living, which has contributed to declining birth rates.

The Challenge of Divorce

• Its introduction into civil legislation has fueled a relativistic view of marriage.
• Media often conveys the idea that marriage is not important, treating it as a disposable commodity.
• Certain interpretations of liberalism have been used to challenge marriage and the commitment of lifelong love.
• The Church does not recognize civil divorce, asserting that the state cannot dissolve what is indissoluble.

Sexual and Social Revolution: The 'Hook-up' Culture

• This 'culture' is opposed for various reasons.
• Media often presents a negative example.
• As Bob Dylan observed, "freedom without truth leads to the corruption of the human being."
• The hook-up culture exemplifies freedom without truth.

Contraception Methods and Family Planning

• These methods are opposed to natural family planning methods.
• They go against the procreative purpose of marriage.
• Abortion and direct sterilization are condemned by the Catholic Church.
• It is primarily the parents' responsibility to educate their children about sexuality and moral values.