Vatican Information Services report 29 MAR 2011on a Message from Pope Benedict to the heads of the Episcopal commissions for the family and life in Latin America and the Caribbean who are meeting in Bogota , Colombia , from 28 March to 1 April under the presidency of Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family.Pope Benedict writes,
"the family is the value the people of those noble lands prize most highly. For this reason, the pastoral care of families has an important place in the evangelising activity of each one of the particular Churches, promoting a culture of life and working to ensure the rights of families are recognised and respected".
"Nonetheless, we sorrowfully note that families are increasingly suffering from adverse situations brought about by rapid cultural changes and social instability, by migratory flows, by poverty, by education programmes which trivialise sexuality and by false ideologies. We cannot remain indifferent before such challenges".
Benedict XVI assures the prelates that "no effort is in vain if it helps to ensure that each family, founded on the indissoluble bond between a man and a woman, carries out its mission as a living cell of society, seedbed of virtues, school of constructive and peaceful coexistence, instrument of harmony and a privileged area in which, with joy and responsibility, human life is welcomed and protected, from beginning to natural end".
"It is also worthwhile to encourage parents in their right - and their fundamental duty - to educate the new generations in faith and in the values that dignify human existence", he writes.
The full text of Pope Benedict's message can be viewed on this link
