EUROPE/SPAIN - 5th World Meeting of Families WMF - "The family is the place where there are most crimes against humanity”, “The time has come for families to rise up”: Theological-Pastoral Congress

Valencia (Agenzia Fides) - Work on the third day of the Theological-Pastoral Congress as part of World Meeting for Families being held in Valencia, started with a conference by Bishop Ricardo Blázquez Pérez Bilbao, president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference on aspects of handing on the faith. "Handing on the faith is sharing the grace of God’s Word with those open to the Gospel who are seeking and cannot find, those who have lost hope and trust. In this handing on of the Gospel no Christian may be lazy.... The Lord entrusts families with children so they may grow as persons and Christians " said Bishop Blázquez.
"Today the family is the real victim of modern ideology" was the message of Dr. Carl A. Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus. "For the good of our future and the future of our children the family must be above any ideology" he said recalling that the family "is a natural institution born of a man and a woman. It is an inalienable relationship born from a concrete human reality not an ideology". Carl Anderson said “the time has come for families to rise up”.
At a panel discussion on the family with founders and representatives of Church Movements, Salvatore Martínez, Spanish national co-ordinator of Renewal in the Spirit stressed the importance of "dialogue in the life of the family" which he described as a “workshop of hope for humanity”. Kiko Argüello, founder of the Neo Catecumen Way, spoke of efforts by his Movement in support of the family and he said "the Church must be able to rely on adult Christians prepared for this new society which is heading towards apostasy". Andrea Riccardi, founder of the S. Egidio Community, said the community dimension of the family and the handing on of the faith are co-natural: "The family has much to teach the Church and much to receive from the Church". Graziella de Luca of the Focolari Movement, illustrated the experience of "new families", "striving to educate their children according to the Gospel applying it to family and social situations so children may build a personal living friendship with Jesus ".
Before the afternoon sessions there was a Mass presided by the Archbishop of Valencia Agustín García-Gasco and concelebrated by at least 60 cardinals and bishops in the presence of the 800 participants of the three Congresses: Theological-Pastoral Congress, Children’s Congress, Grandparents’ Congress.
Afternoon panel discussion by experts focused on “Family and Bio-ethics”. John Hass, president of the Catholic Bio-ethics Center said "the family has become the place where there are most crimes against our humanity". The dean of the faculty of Bio-ethics at Regina Apostolorum College in Rome Fr. Gonzalo Miranda, speaking of bio-ethics and the family denounced Eugenic practices "which eliminate persons considered useless"; practices of artificial reproduction which "establish a relationship of dominion with the procreated person" and euthanasia or mercy killing where as "the authentic family moved by personal love is the real challenge against movements which promote euthanasia". Finally the directress of the Institute of Bio-Ethics at Francisco di Vitoria University in Madrid, Mónica López Barahona, said clinical testing with adult stem cells has produced more than 500 positive results whereas no results have been obtained with tests on embryo stem cells. (JO/RG) (Agenzia Fides 7/7/2006)