Friday, December 17, 2010

Family: the basis for World Peace

John Smeaton highlights some passages in Pope Benedict XVI's message for the 44th World Day of Peace, which will be observed on New Year's Day, in it the Pope emphasises that the family is the basis for world peace.

"The family...finds its place here as the first school for the social, cultural, moral and spiritual formation and growth of children ... Parents must be always free to transmit to their children, responsibly and without constraints, their heritage of faith, values and culture. The family, the first cell of human society, remains the primary training ground for harmonious relations at every level of coexistence, human, national and international ..."

It is interesting that the commandment "Honour your father and mother" ends with the promise, "and you will live long in the land". The inference there is family gives us social stability. Social stability is necessary for peace.
Does it really follow broken, fractured unstable families lead to broken, fractured unstable? It is logical but is it so in fact? I must admit I think the world will be in precarious situation when Chinese men outnumber women by so 20% in the next 50 years. War seems the only historical answer to such a surfeit of men.

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