QUESTION: What are the main challenges families are facing in living our Catholic Faith today?
- Joe Joseph
ANSWER : Jacob Parappally MSFS
The Catholic tradition holds family life in high esteem and calls it the “domestic Church.” It is in this domestic Church that true Christian faith is shared among the members and transmitted to the next generation. It is here that love is nurtured, the values of the Kingdom of God are lived, and the dignity of human beings is cultivated. According to the Second Vatican Council, the family is the “school of deeper humanity” (Gaudium et Spes, No. 52). Pope John Paul II affirmed that “the future of humanity passes by way of the family” (Familiaris Consortio, 86). But in our times, almost all families are going through a crisis because they are threatened by many challenges, especially from socio-cultural changes, economic pressures, the invasion of the digital world into family life, growing individualism, and increasing disregard for human and religious values. Christian families further suffer from difficulties in living out and handing on the faith they have received to the next generation. This calls for serious analysis and reflection on this situation by all who are concerned about the future of families and their life of faith, as well as renewed pastoral commitment.
Crisis in Religions in General
In our times, religion is often relegated to the private sphere of individuals, especially in the Western world. They call it secularization. In India, secularism has a different meaning. It means that the State treats every religion of the country equally and has a positive attitude towards all religions. But in the West, secularism means complete separation between the State and religion. The State has nothing to do with religion, and faith has no relevance for public life. It is a matter of an individual’s choice. All religions are going through a crisis because of such secularization. Religious values don’t have as much influence in the lives of individuals as in earlier times when a person’s worth and credibility were judged by his or her commitment to follow religious values.
According to the Second Vatican Council, the family is the “school of deeper humanity” (Gaudium et Spes, No. 52). Pope John Paul II affirmed that “the future of humanity passes by way of the family” (Familiaris Consortio, 86). But in our times, almost all families are going through a crisis because they are threatened by many challenges, especially from socio-cultural changes, economic pressures, the invasion of the digital world into family life, growing individualism, and increasing disregard for human and religious values.
The Catholic Church faces a serious crisis in Europe and in the Western world in general. This is evident in the diminishing number of the faithful attending even Sunday Mass and approaching the sacraments for spiritual nourishment. Some youth don’t attend Mass for fear of being considered by their peers as mentally unsound. For Catholic families, it is difficult to bring up children in such a situation, where society in general gives more importance to consumerism, individualism, autonomy, and material success than to faith and gospel values. Therefore, both secularization and the privatization of religion are challenges that Catholic families are facing today.
Growing Individualism and Disregard for Moral Life
Present-day culture gives importance to individualism and disregards moral values as restrictions to human freedom and choices. By relativizing moral values and considering personal choice as the criterion of truth, it devalues the humanizing moral values that have their source in the gospels. In the midst of various relativist and conflicting messages, the Catholic Church’s teachings on the sanctity of life, marriage, sexuality, and sacramental life are questioned or abandoned as outdated. The Church does not seem to be in sync with the present world. In this situation, parents who are committed to Christ and his Church find it hard to bring up children with right human and Christian values. Some parents feel frustrated with the unwillingness of their children to listen to them when they try to impress upon them the importance of the Church and gospel values in their lives.
Fragility of Marriage and Fear of Permanent Commitment
The stability of marriage and family structures is threatened by the present-day trend of throwaway culture, where what does not suit one’s likes and pleasures is easily discarded. The increasing number of divorces and the normalization of cohabitation or living together without going through the sacrament of marriage are no longer seen by some as contrary to the faith commitment of a Christian. A permanent and covenantal commitment in marriage, along with the acceptance of responsible parenthood, has been devalued. Many families suffer when the spouses differ greatly in their faith commitment, and their children drift away from the Church and the faith. The weakening of Christian family life affects the credibility of Christian witness to the liberating and humanizing values of the gospel. Many Christian families struggle to live and give witness to faithful and self-sacrificing love. Failures in marriage subvert the role of families as sacraments of God’s covenantal love with human beings.
Pressures on Families: Social and Economic
Societies that depended mostly on agriculture had better possibilities for families to stay together and pray together. Such situations are changing fast in our times. Many people move away from farming and agriculture to other forms of employment and have less time for their families. The demands of work, uncertainty concerning employment in a culture of “hire and fire,” settling down with jobs that may not be one’s choice and therefore bring no job satisfaction, and financial insecurity reduce both the time and energy of parents to dedicate themselves to nurturing faith in their children and bringing them up as witnessing disciples of Christ.
The challenges that Catholic families face today in living and transmitting their faith to the next generations are many and complex. They include cultural, social, economic, technological, and spiritual factors. The growing secular culture relegates religion to the private sphere of individuals, and relativism undermines the foundations of faith. Social and economic pressures affect normal family life; digital media is reshaping value systems; and the weakening and devaluation of married life are threatening the stability of families. In this situation, the Church must renew its pastoral vision of the family, strengthen adult catechesis, and accompany families in their struggle to face challenges to faith.
Migration for economic reasons separates members from their families and affects family bonds. Sometimes the urge for greater financial security and the accumulation of material goods and comforts drive some to pay more attention to consumerist values than to gospel values. Giving more importance to wants than needs creates pressure to accumulate more than what is required for a secure and relatively comfortable life. These pressures make it difficult for some families to live a life of prayer, provide faith formation for their children, and involve themselves in the affairs of the Church.
Difficulties in Preserving and Transmitting Faith
Families find it a great challenge to preserve the faith they have received from their ancestors and to transmit it to the younger generations. Parents are the primary educators of their children in matters of faith. It is true that parishes and schools provide opportunities for faith formation or catechesis. However, it is the primary responsibility of parents to bring up children in the right faith (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 2223). Many parents find themselves not well-educated in faith and therefore unable to answer many of the questions their children or young adults raise concerning faith and the teachings of the Church. If the faith is not lived and practiced in families, religious education through catechesis remains abstract and disconnected from daily life. Many parents have only minimal knowledge of matters of faith, though they may be highly educated in secular subjects. They need adult catechesis both to deepen their knowledge of what they believe and profess and to give reasonable answers to the questions children and youth raise concerning faith. They cannot escape from questions concerning faith by simply answering, “It is a mystery.” While recognizing the mysterious dimensions of our faith affirmations, what is revealed can still be understood by reason.
The Media and the Digital World Influence
The emergence of digital culture offers both opportunities and dangers for Catholic families regarding their faith. According to Pope Francis, “the digital world is a public square, a meeting place where we can either encourage or demean one another” (Christus Vivit, No,87). Digital media can be used powerfully for the transmission of faith, at least on the informational and inspirational levels. However, the digital world exposes Catholic families to much content that challenges, undermines, or negates the Catholic faith and gospel values. It fosters a superficial attitude towards life and a casual approach to matters that affect personal growth. Further, it can negatively affect the lives of young people who are vulnerable to distorted images of their own identity, human relationships, sexuality, the lure of pleasure, and the desire for easy money without hard work. Parents are not trained to guide children in integrating their faith with responsible use of digital media. It is a challenge for families to train their children to discern what is useful for their growth as persons of faith and character so that they can fulfill their mission in this world as true disciples of Christ.
Christian Faith in a Pluralistic Society
In the context of multi-religious and multi-cultural societies, living and practicing the Catholic faith is very challenging. Growing religious fundamentalism in all major religions is threatening peace and harmony in religiously plural societies. Therefore, some look at all religions with suspicion. The exclusivist attitude of Catholics, claiming superiority over other religions and asserting that it is the sole possessor of truth, has often been criticized as arrogance. The pluralism of religions and the many ways of salvation offered by these religions can lead to confusion and relativism among children and youth who are exposed to competing belief systems. It is a challenge to Catholic families to be rooted in their Catholic faith while being open to understanding and respecting other religious traditions and entering into dialogue with them. In sharing the newness of faith in Jesus Christ, whose new testament is the self-emptying love of God for the creation of a new heaven and a new earth, families can witness to their faith by reaching out to all people of goodwill and to all who need assistance to live a fuller human life.
Families rooted in prayer and nourished by the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, and supported by the ecclesial community can truly become, as Amoris Laetitia says, “a school of love, a place where we learn to appreciate the value of relationships, to celebrate life, and to share the faith” (AL, No. 274). In the present world, where rapid changes are taking place and the most sublime and humanizing values of the gospel are being abandoned or replaced with depersonalizing values of pleasure and material comfort, Catholic families are called not only to preserve faith but also to witness to it with courage and conviction. Families, which are called the “domestic Church,” need to be powerful witnesses of God’s presence in the world.
The challenges that Catholic families face today in living and transmitting their faith to the next generations are many and complex. They include cultural, social, economic, technological, and spiritual factors. The growing secular culture relegates religion to the private sphere of individuals, and relativism undermines the foundations of faith. Social and economic pressures affect normal family life; digital media is reshaping value systems; and the weakening and devaluation of married life are threatening the stability of families. In this situation, the Church must renew its pastoral vision of the family, strengthen adult catechesis, and accompany families in their struggle to face challenges to faith.
Families rooted in prayer and nourished by the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, and supported by the ecclesial community can truly become, as Amoris Laetitia says, “a school of love, a place where we learn to appreciate the value of relationships, to celebrate life, and to share the faith” (AL, No. 274). In the present world, where rapid changes are taking place and the most sublime and humanizing values of the gospel are being abandoned or replaced with depersonalizing values of pleasure and material comfort, Catholic families are called not only to preserve faith but also to witness to it with courage and conviction. Families, which are called the “domestic Church,” need to be powerful witnesses of God’s presence in the world.
