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Augustinians Support International Day of Families

May 15, 2011

Augustinians of the Midwest are encouraged to mark the United Nations' International Day of Families, May 15, 2011, in their communities and ministries. The Augustinians invite and encourage all who identify with Augustinian spirituality and traditions to do likewise.

This Day highlights many of the family values that form a basic part of Catholic moral teaching.

The observance recognizes the importance of the family as the basic unit of society. The International Day of Families provides an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families and can become a powerful mobilizing factor on behalf of families in all countries, allowing them to lobby for the protection and support of family issues appropriate to each society.

Theme for 2011

The Families Day theme for 2011 focuses on Confronting Family Poverty and Social Exclusion.

When families live in poverty, they frequently experience forms of “social exclusion” -- discrimination based on their economic status: unequal access to education and health services, lack of employment opportunities, etc., creating a recurring cycle of poverty. These conditions exist both in developing countries and in the developed world.

The 2011 theme emphasizes the importance of family-oriented strategies for poverty eradication -- actions and policies that strengthen, rather than weaken, families, help to reduce the vulnerability of the young and the elderly, and provide avenues of escape from the cycle that tends to pass a condition of poverty from one generation to the next.

International Day of Families 2011 is an occasion to examine the current reality and develop both private and government initiatives that will strengthen family life. It is an invitation to address the challenges faced by families living in poverty. It is an opportunity to discover new ways to provide access to quality education and affordable physical and mental health care, to eliminate violence in the home and in the streets, to support parents at critical times, to inspire young people with positive values in the face of negativity, and much more.

Charter of the Rights of the Family

The Charter of the Rights of the Family, presented October 22, 1983 by the Holy See to all persons, institutions and authorities concerned with the mission of the family in today's world, focuses on the basic rights that all families need and deserve to function and grow. Although the document gives special attention to marriage as the “natural institution to which the mission of transmitting life is exclusively entrusted,” the Charter focuses on protecting the family on all levels.

Article 4 maintains that “human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception,” taking a direct stand against abortion and embryonic experimentation.

Borrowing from the Convention of the Rights of the Child, this article also maintains that all children in or out of the womb, born to single women or married parents, orphaned, handicapped or perfectly healthy deserve special protection and assistance from the government and society into which they are born.

The Charter challenges societies and governments to ensure the protections of the family, lobbying for individuals' freedom to enter into marriage of their own free will, raise a family of the size of their own choosing (without being forced to resort to birth control), maintain foremost control of their children’s education, freely pass on religious and cultural beliefs to the children, and to earn a sufficient family wage that allows the family to live comfortably and does not require the mother to work outside of the home.

The Catholic Church strongly supports the institution of family, and celebrates its importance in our lives. The U. N.’s International Day of Families provides us with a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the joy of family.

How You Can Observe the International Day of Families

Suggestions for observing the International Day of Families include

• Have a family discussion that explores issues and offers options on promoting healthy families in general and steps that can be taken to strengthen poor families amd break the cycle of poverty in particular.

• Become familiar with the Charter on the Rights of the Family. (Opens new window)

• Teach children about the importance of healthy families, the challenges facing poor families, and the resources that will help families to overcome poverty through classroom activities, family discussion, or volunteering with an agency that serves poor families.

• Encourage school, church and public agency officials to exhibit in church halls, schools, and other public spaces publications, photographs, children’s drawings, posters, and other material on healthy families and the special needs of poor families.

• Write or telephone your elected officials asking them to promote policies that foster strong family life and help those families living in poverty to successfully meet the challenges facing them. Find your federal officials and communiciate with them by postal mail, e-mail or telephone:

  •        Contact the President of the United States (Opens new window)

  •        Find your Representative in the U. S. Congress (Opens new window)

  •        Find your U. S. Senators (Opens new window)

• An obvious way to celebrate the International Day of Families is, of course, to act in ways that build healthy families: Spend time with your own family, read to your children, make an effort to gather together to share a meal, send a card to thank a mother or father, or a mother-figure or a father-figure for being a part of your life, pick up the telephone to let family members know you are thinking of them, give a hug to your children or spouse or parent, or remember family members in your prayers for the day.

More Resources

       » Learn more about the International Day of Families (Opens new window)
             Information from the United Nations

       » Confronting Family Poverty and Social Exclusion (Word document - Opens new window)
             Background information on the 2011 Day of Families theme

       » U. N. Secretary-General's Message for International Day of Families 2011 Opens new window)
             Observations from Ban Ki-moon

       » Read the Charter on the Rights of the Family (Opens new window)
             Presented by the Holy See to all concerned with the family in today's world

       » Marriage and Family ~ U. S. Catholic Conference (Opens new window)
             Catholic initiative to promote healthy marriages and families

Other UN Days Reflect Christian Values

      » Augustinians Support International Days
             Seven U.N. Days reflect Catholic Christian values