“There is something shifting in our value system and we must do something about it.”
These words were uttered by Rebekah Ali-Gouveia, founder and director of the Elpis Centre, as she addressed more than 200 persons at the opening of last week’s two-day Caribbean Conference entitled: “Life and Family Values: Stabilizing Our Future”.
The Elpis Centre, a Christian organisation which opened in 2009 in Freeport, T&T, is a pregnancy and family resource Centre. Rebekah joined forces with the World Congress of Families to organise this regional event. With more than 20 speakers over the two days, there was much to assimilate. For information about the centre see: www.elpiscentre.org. The sessions were taped, so I shall seek to purchase a copy of the proceedings for CCSJ’s Resource library. Topics included:
Why stand for the natural family?; Marriage Matters; Abstinence; Should Prostitution be Decriminalised or Legalised?; Sexual Health in the Caribbean; Abortion; Healing from Post Abortion Stress; Constitutional and other legal protection afforded to human beings; Strategies for defending life and family in the Caribbean; The cultural roots of demographic winter (the worldwide decline of birth rates); The impact of declining fertility in the Caribbean; Parental rights and responsibilities; Values Education for successful families; Modern Woman and Motherhood; Children at risk – importance of Fatherhood; The Impact of Entertainment Media on the Family; The International Impact of Pornography; Fundamental rights under threat by ‘New Rights’; The ‘Sexualisation’ of Children.
I agree with Dr Janice Crouse that “fractured families are the root causes of many of society’s problems…The family is where individuals learn and see modelled love, good work ethics, trustworthiness, honesty, and other values, behaviour and attitudes that make a healthy society possible…We must target the root causes of broken relationships – beginning with the things that keep people from God…We must reframe the public debate and change hearts and minds in the process.”
Catholics need to raise our awareness of the real threats to family life and to life itself. Speakers at the conference shared examples of attempts that are being made by certain activitists to force countries in the Caribbean and elsewhere to change our laws to legalise abortion, sodomy, same sex unions etc. There is a clash of moral values in our world. Read about the Yogyakarta Principles, a 2006 statement concerning the application of international human rights law in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity. As Dr Tozzi said at the conference: “The stage is set for the conflict of ‘rights’”.
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More than one speaker referred to the fact that God’s law is written on our hearts. I recall Pope Benedict XVI’s speech, given during the papal audience for the international congress on natural law, Feb 12, 2007. He rightly said that the natural law, “to which the Apostle Paul refers (cf Rom 2:14-15), is written on the heart of man and is consequently, even today, accessible…This law has as its first and general principle, ‘to do good and to avoid evil’…No law made by man can override the norm written by the Creator without society becoming dramatically wounded in what constitutes its basic foundation” (See Catechism on The Natural Moral Law, 1954).
If we don’t take our faith into the marketplace and let our voices be heard, we will not be able to achieve our mission of transforming society so that it reflects Gospel values. Speakers at the conference highlighted information about the powerful forces at work in our country and in our region that seek to re-define the family.
In March the Holy Father warned about “…the powerful political and cultural currents seeking to alter the legal definition of marriage… marriage and the family are institutions that must be promoted and defended from every possible misrepresentation of their true nature.’
“The contemporary crisis of marriage and the family, has led to grave societal problems bearing an immense human and economic cost,” he said, adding that ignorance of, or challenges to, Church teaching on marriage and sexuality were part of the “intellectual and ethical challenges” to evangelisation today (Scottish Catholic Observer).
The Holy Father wants us to “support families; to reach out to those in difficult marital situations, especially the divorced, single parents, teenage mothers and women considering abortion.” Let us pray for our families and instil in our families virtues and values that will help us to build a strong nation.
As Rebekah said: “There is no need to be afraid (1 Peter 3:14). Let us speak the truth with charity.”
