I. Challenges that exist today
The Church looks with great concern on the difficult
situation of the family and the challenges to human dignity and even
human life in Europe. Moreover, this situation and the threats to human
life are at the centre of parliamentary debates.
A growing inability on the part of many of our
contemporaries to make decisions that are binding in a definitive way, a
decrease in interiority and the ability to reflect, and a lifestyle
shaped by consumerism are affecting the structures of society in Europe.
All this affects the family primarily where self-destructive tendencies
are manifested.
At a time when so much is said about "future man" and
his technological possibilities for "improvement", it is important to be
realistic and to condemn the tendencies towards regression and
dehumanization emerging in our societies that favour the weakening and
precariousness of the family.
These tendencies also represent challenges.
1. Some challenges come from the family itself
Today, when "new family models" are spoken about uncritically, the
word
"family" is used in the plural, and there is also a tendency to
redefine the concept of marriage itself. By departing from the
fundamental notion of the union-communion of two persons of different
sexes who give themselves to each other in an exclusive way without
reservation or time limitations, the ambiguous terms are multiplying in
an effort to define the "new family models". Thus, one speaks of the
"single-parent family", "recomposed family", "de facto unions" or even
"homosexual family". These so-called "new models" are deceptive.
First, the expression "single-parent family" contains a contradiction in terms. A child
always
has two parents. To speak about a "single-parent family" is to deny the
existence of the absent parent, usually the father, and to give
credit to the growing matriarchal model.
Second, regarding the so-called "recomposed" family, it
should be noted that since it is the result of a failure, it is
conceived of and desired according to the model of the nuclear family.
But behind a so-called "recomposed" family, there is a "broken" family
that remains, and many times this is the family that is important to the
children.
Talking too much about the "single-parent family" or the
"recomposed family" and attempting to extend the notion of family to
homosexual couples has resulted in emptying the idea of family of its
meaning. There is a tendency to no longer present the family as a simple
"union between two persons" with no further specification. The
consequences of this deliberate vagueness are grave, especially for the
children. Indeed, all too often family questions are seen today almost
exclusively from the viewpoint of the
adults
and their interests. Children are the first victims, often in very
painful conditions, of these "new models" that are neither new nor
models.
2. Other challenges come from the secularization of society
Another important point to be taken into consideration
in this analysis of the challenges to families in Europe today concerns
the secularization of society and the changes this has brought about in
the philosophical and anthropological perspective. By departing from any
reference to God and any idea about creation and proclaiming the human
being's complete autonomy with regard to "nature", our societies have
not only fallen into grave errors of judgment, but also into a process
of dehumanization. Even though the "human person" is still spoken about
and an ever-longer list of "rights" is claimed, man is no longer
respected for his nature and destiny. The art of right thinking and
sound reasoning is left to philosophical experts, while it is technology
that prevails.
All of a sudden no one knows how to solve "ethical"
problems any more. Instead of moral evaluation and wise propositions,
all too often juridical positivism triumphs in the course of justice,
and pragmatism dictates law in parliaments more and more. Of course, the
number of ethical commissions and committees is growing, but they
cannot make definitive judgments. They cannot make anything but
so-called "consensual" verdicts, by reducing all to a relative common
denominator.
Such secularization has been manifested recently in the
rejection by some members of European conventions of any reference to
Europe's Christian roots in the future Constitution of the Union.
3. Challenges from society through forming unjust laws
Since society is so secularized and liberated from any
reference to a universal "natural" morality, Europeans, in the past
decade, through the voices of their delegates in the different national
parliaments and European bodies, have tried to pass laws on all the
points of moral life that had escaped the arbitration of human laws
until then. It is especially in the inviolable areas, that is, those of
the family and of life, that major manifestations of zeal have been
recorded in an effort to regulate (or deregulate) it. In some
parliaments, this will to proclaim man's autonomy in legislative texts
has been expressed in the promulgation of unjust laws regarding
abortion, euthanasia, medically-assisted procreation, the use of human
embryos for medical research and the creation of a juridical framework
for homosexual unions. These laws are contrary to Europe's Christian
heritage, which has made it possible to become aware of the dignity of
human life in a special way.
One particular danger entailed by the unjust laws voted
in by some parliaments in Europe concerns the beginning of human life.
Since it has avoided giving a definition of the human embryo (because
this would have condemned the practice of abortion which, on the
contrary, is considered inviolable), the right has been claimed to
establish thresholds and limits in the biological evolution of the
embryo, and it has been decreed that it is possible to manipulate, use
and destroy unborn human life with impunity as long as it is still on
this side of one of the arbitrarily chosen thresholds.
Human life has thus turned into laboratory material
despite the unconditional respect for human life written into the
Constitutions of States and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
4. The current situation on the European scene
With some surprise we realized that despite our
countries' different histories and economic situations, they are
experiencing an evolution towards the same deterioration of family
values. Today the family in Europe is often in a very fragile and
precarious situation.
a) Marriage
The first form of fragility concerns marriage because its very basis is being questioned.
The number of young people who live together before getting married
is continually growing. In particular, the duration of cohabitation is
longer and lasts for several years. This is accepted and no longer
considered (or is) a moral problem. As a result, the number of children
born outside of marriage is rising constantly.
People get married later: 28 years of age for women and 30 for men, that is, five years later than 20 years ago.
Today there is a "pro-divorce mentality",
according to the Discourse of the Holy Father on 28 January 2002 to the
Tribunal of the Roman Rota. The prevailing culture favours the
separation of spouses and divorce as the solution to a couple's
problems. In the countries where divorce is relatively recent (Italy,
Spain), the number of divorces is growing. In the countries where
divorce has been possible for a longer time, the number has stabilized.
Married couples separate more readily during the first
years of marriage, with a peak in the fifth year, but divorces are
recorded in every stage of married life.
The consequences of these often short-lived unions
affect the children in the first place, jeopardizing their education and
balanced scholastic integration.
b) De facto unions
The question of de facto unions and their legal "framework" by
the State, which has been introduced recently in various European countries, is
of great current interest. Even though these unions only represent 8 percent
compared to marriages, they also constitute a real challenge to the natural
institution of marriage. As John Paul II stated in his Discourse on 21 January
1999 to the Roman Rota, there is an "...essential difference between a mere de
facto union - even though it claims to be based on love - and marriage, in which
love is expressed in a commitment that is not only moral but rigorously
juridical.
The bond reciprocally assumed has a strengthening effect, in
turn, on the love from which it arises, fostering its permanence to the
advantage of the partners, the children and society itself".
In some countries, these relations open the door to a
statute or to rights similar to those of conjugal life, although
objectively they do not involve the same commitment. In particular,
these relations do not imply an enduring commitment, which ought to be
the minimum requirement when a family is formed. How can society be so
indifferent to this lack of stability, even when children born from
these unions are deprived of the solid bond between their parents that
would ensure their harmonious formation?
A second stage in the evolution of de facto unions has
to do with same-sex unions. In some European countries, these unions
have been integrated into the juridical framework given to de facto
unions through a vote in the national parliament or a decision on the
regional level. The juridical framework proposed for de facto unions has
surely not been presented as an alternative to marriage, but in reality
and implicitly, this provision strikes at the family based on the
conjugal bond.
A third stage is reached when same-sex couples,
registered in the juridical framework of de facto unions, presume to
have the right to adopt children. This represents an even greater danger
because the "higher interests of the child" are not respected, as
indicated in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children.
c) The family
There is a tendency to relegate the family to the
private sphere, without taking into consideration the fundamental
service that the family offers to the State. In many cases, we are
witnessing a withdrawal of governmental economic aid and support for the
family as such and as a subject of rights and duties. In so doing there
is a shift from a family policy (where the family is a subject of which
all its members are part), to a social aid policy (granted to the
different needy members of a given family, for example, the children).
Such social aid is certainly legitimate to the extent it
helps those in need, but it also includes the risk of treating the
different members of the family separately, for example, on one side the
mother, on the other, the children. Such a social aid policy must not
be substituted for the fair retribution for the services the family
renders to the State. This would amount to ignoring these services and
indirectly penalizing the families that have more than two children,
thus ensuring generational replacement.
Today there is an urgent need to enact legal measures so that
mothers will not be obliged to work outside the home when they have to take care
of their children's upbringing.
Some European countries are taking initiatives along these
lines; others are trying to facilitate working conditions for mothers outside
the home and to ensure them some job security during maternity leave.
Regardless of these measures, today, in general,
families in Europe with several children feel penalized compared to
couples without children or unmarried persons, all at a time when a
decline in the birth rate in Europe is becoming critical.
d) Life: voluntary procreation limits
The use of contraception in Europe has increased
steadily ever since the first combined pill appeared on the market
(1958) containing estrogenic and progesteronic hormones
(
Ortho-Novum), as the Encyclical
Humanae Vitae
had predicted. The so-called "emergency contraceptive" pill has been
available now for several years. Even though this pill makes early
abortion possible, everything is being done to facilitate its use among
young, school-aged women. An increase in surgical sterilization is also
noted among very young women.
The promoters of such contraception based their
arguments on the slogan that "the pill" was "the most effective remedy
against abortion" (
Evangelium Vitae,
n. 13). The truth is that the spread of contraception has not led to a
decrease in the number of voluntary abortions as expected. Indeed, the
contraceptive mentality that frees one from any responsibility towards a
child leads to the abortion mentality in which the child resulting from
contraceptive failure is rejected.
As John Paul II states in his Encyclical
Evangelium Vitae: "Certainly, from the moral point of view contraception and abortion are
specifically different evils... but
despite their differences of nature and moral gravity, contraception
and abortion are often closely connected, as fruits of the same tree".
While a growing interest is noted among women in the
natural methods for responsible procreation, in most countries
governmental bodies responsible for public health and for youth have
made little serious effort to present these methods to the public to
promote their spread. As a result, all too often these methods remain
almost on a confidential level.
Very widespread contraception has well-known, dramatic
effects on the birth rate, aging of the population, and shortly also on
the economic stability of the countries concerned. Despite these dangers
there are no appropriate governmental policies in favour of responsible
procreation to increase the birthrate.
The use of contraception, which is fostered by active
propaganda among young people through so-called "sex education" courses,
has negative effects that are well known today. The information
provided in these courses is often limited to instruction on how to use
contraceptives. Sex education centred on an individual's sexual impulses
and the "risk-free" means to satisfy them is poor preparation for the
mature, responsible love of adult sexuality that has the nature of a
gift and finds its proper place in the family. Sometimes this kind of
education tends to distance children from their parents in the name of
the young people's "sexual rights".
When young people receive this kind of "preparation",
they get an erroneous, immature mentality regarding sexuality that is
unsuitable for their future conjugal union. It is not surprising that
wherever this kind of "sex education" prevails, an increase is seen in
the number of unwanted pregnancies among adolescents, often followed by
abortion. Another result is an increase in sexually transmittable
diseases that often lead to permanent sterility in women.
A vicious circle has been created involving
contraception, abortion and artificial procreation. Despite objective
statistical surveys, in the most-affected countries, propaganda in
favour of contraception among young people is increasing.
Abortion
Today, in almost every European nation, abortion is
available up to the 12th week of pregnancy through a simple request by
the mother. In the Eastern European countries, developments from this
viewpoint have not been at all encouraging. Under the Communist regimes,
abortion had taken on unprecedented proportions in these countries. The
fall of these regimes and the people's access to Western contraceptive
means have not led to a decrease in abortion, contrary to what was
predicted. By now this practice is too ingrained in the people's spirit
and habits to turn back.
As a result, these countries often find themselves
facing the grave consequences of a prolonged "demographic winter". They
see their populations aging and diminishing numerically in a real and
proper implosion that is draining the energies of their countries.
The RU-486 pill (mifepristone) is now available
in a growing number of European countries. The circulation of this pill,
which makes it possible to bring about early abortions, was supposed to
lead to a reduction in the number of surgical abortions. This did not
happen: women simply resort to abortion more. Today, one-third of the
total number of abortions in France are the result of the RU-486.
Medically-assisted procreation
The assisted-procreation market has taken on vast
proportions. This trend finds fertile ground in powerful economic
interests. Some doctors bend to their patients' desires instead of
proposing wiser alternatives to them, and they are taking greater risks
with regard to the child's integrity.
With the development of medically-assisted procreation
technology, the practice was introduced of freezing and conserving
embryos while awaiting their hypothetical use. Often these embryos are
abandoned by couples, and this situation appears to justify the requests
from scientists who would like to use them in their research.
Since a child is essentially a "gift", it is not
legitimate to proclaim a "right" to a child that would justify all the
operations that are carried out in order to have one, regardless of
their morality. On the other hand, the widespread practice of prenatal
diagnosis has increased the number of abortions that are proposed
whenever there is the slightest suspicion of somatic, chromosomal or
genetic anomalies. Prenatal diagnosis is also opening the way to sex
selection.
Moreover, in Europe we have already entered into the
practice of preimplantation diagnosis with the "selection of embryos".
If laws are not made to limit this practice, "scientific" eugenics will
be introduced into our culture again after being temporarily banned by
the Nuremberg Trial following the fall of the Nazi regime.
Euthanasia
It is true that rightful resistance has been made in
most European countries to the proposals to legalize or decriminalize
euthanasia and its corollary, assisted suicide; however, it is also true
that euthanasia has already been admitted in a few European countries,
albeit received with some reluctance by doctors. With the case of Oregon
in the United States, an example was created that fuels the debate.
It should be noted that there is no such debate in the
countries that set up suitable palliative care at the right time and a
sufficient number of homes for the elderly.
II. Positive and hopeful signs
In view of these challenges, we note that the so-called
"traditional" family based on a solid conjugal bond endures much better
than expected. Most couples continue to be faithful.
In France, for example, between 30 and 55 years of age,
seven couples out of eight are married, and 62 percent of couples do not
divorce! Moreover, only one family in eight is a "single-parent
family". The value of the conjugal bond continues to be strong.
When asked, most young people in any European country
say that they want to get married and have a family. Sociologists tell
us that "family ties have never been so strong". Surveys show
that fidelity is always a "guiding value" among couples, and the great
majority of young people support this. Candidates for marriage are being
prepared better and are more aware of their responsibilities and duty.
During 25 years of service to the Church, the Successor
of Peter has done very much for the family. These years of John Paul
II's papacy have been a particularly fruitful time for the Church's
pastoral care of this institution. Not without reason, today the Holy
Father is called "the Pope of the Family". Even though it is difficult
to make a precise assessment in this area, the papacy of John Paul II
has certainly curbed the most self-destructive tendencies of the family
predicted by the "prophets" of the "sexual revolution" of the 1970s.
The Bishops' Conferences, aided by the COM.E.C.E:
(Commission of the Episcopates of the European Community) disseminate
the Holy Father's rich teachings on the family and apply them to
concrete situations. In the Bishops' Conferences and Dioceses a new
awareness is giving priority to the central character of the pastoral
care of the family. We see a growing recognition of the importance of
the family everywhere. This explains why the pastoral care of the family
is a priority concern today. Often the annual diocesan programmes are
built around this pastoral care.
The great effort based on the Gospel to renew the family
carried out by the different movements should be acknowledged. Among
these movements inspired by the Spirit, the ones that work in favour of
the family and life have a particular dynamism that commands ever
greater attention and respect.
The Institutes for the Family respond to the need to
train the animators of the pastoral care of the family. In particular,
the John Paul II Institute in Rome deserves special mention. Today the
efforts made by this Institute are bearing fruit all around the world.
Inspired by its model, priests and laypeople trained in
this Institute have created other Institutes for the Family: in the
U.S.A. (Washington, D.C., 22 August 1988), Spain (Valencia, 14 September
1994), Mexico (Mexico City, 22 January 1996), Brazil (São Salvador da
Bahia, 2 January 2001), Benin (Cotonou, 22 May 2001) and India
(Thuruthy, 15 October 2001). More institutes are being established.
Moreover, there are other valid institutes for the family, some of which
have existed for a long time.
There are also very widespread movements that help
families and often play a role of networking or spiritual support for
married couples and families.
III. Overall resolutions and implications
Based on this assessment, we present the following resolutions.
The pastoral care of the family in Europe must adapt to
the needs of our times and be more effective. In past years great
progress has been made. Aware of these considerable, encouraging
developments, we must aim at action that is more united, coordinated,
incisive and forward-looking. The pastoral care of the family must be
able to respond adequately to this strategy. This general outline for
action has some precise implications, both inside and out of the Church.
A. Inside the Church
1. A clearly defined mission
The Holy Father is calling us to a new evangelization,
centred on the pastoral care of the family. Therefore, enough emphasis
can never be put on the central character of the pastoral care of the
family within the general framework of the work carried out by the
Bishops' Conferences and in the Dioceses. This central character makes
everyone's cooperation necessary, on all levels, in developing and
implementing the pastoral care of the family.
The task of the Commissions for the Family and Life must
be carried out with renewed ardour, especially in places where this
work has just begun, such as in some Eastern European countries. In
places where the pastoral care of the family has deep roots, the work
must continue with constancy and enthusiasm. The pastoral care of the
family should be provided with formation centres, permanent personnel
and many competent volunteers.
The organization of careful, quality marriage
preparation continues to be the basis of the pastoral care of the
family. Today this preparation for marriage is increasingly combined
with teaching the Gospel, accompanied more and more by a task of
evangelization linked with welcoming, listening to and keeping in touch
with the couples. Many young people who ask to be married in church have
not had any proper grouding in the faith. Thus, this offers us a
privileged moment to announce and sow the Gospel.
Marriage preparation is especially successful if the
young people have received an education to authentic love at home and
during the course of their catechesis. The document published by the
Pontifical Council for the Family in 1995, The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality, does not isolate sexual education; on the contrary, it inserts it into the framework of a person's overall formation.
2. A mission for the whole Church
In order to bear fruit, the pastoral care of the family
requires all those who have a role of responsibility, and in first place
the Bishops and the Bishops' Conferences, to be involved. Therefore,
one of the tasks for those in charge of this pastoral care must be
vigilance. It is necessary for one or more members of the different
diocesan groups and episcopal commissions to be effectively involved in
the pastoral care of the family.
To be more effective, the pastoral care of the family
should be developed as a network linked to the work of all the other
kinds of pastoral care.
B. Outside the Church
Throughout our analyses one common point emerged: the
Catholic Church represents a considerable potential force in Europe that
is not expressed sufficiently in the facts.
Therefore, it is urgent to create more, better organized
reflection and information groups, particularly in political bodies and
Catholic organizations for the defense of the values of the family and
life. During our exchanges we realized that many dishonest or immoral
proposals in the different European countries could have been stopped at
the appropriate time through the intervention of the Bishops or the
members of a Commission.
In order to carry out these complex tasks effectively,
it seems important to set up a European "observatory" as an efficient
service to the Church and society. It would be entrusted with the task
of gathering all the information useful to the promotion of respect for
the family and life and providing in-depth reflection on these subjects.
At a time of confusion, a service that clarifies matters is needed.
The "Lexicon", recently published by the Pontifical
Council for the Family, enters into this perspective of aid and
clarification. The "observatory" would be at the service of the family
and life and all those who work in this area. It would be directed at
apostolic movements, politicians and lawmakers in order to inform and
form them. It should be a reference point for the various associations
working in favour of the family and life and would foster communication
and collaboration between them. The guarantee of the Holy See in this
matter, through the Pontifical Council for the Family, should ensure the
freedom of this tool from any particular interests as well as its
fidelity to the teachings of the Church.
Conclusion
United around the Holy Father and encouraged by the
broad scope and emphasis of his teaching, we would like to enhance the
value in the eyes of the world of the riches of the family, the cradle
of civilization and love, and a living source of joy for the world.
There is a lot to do and to develop, and a great task of giving witness
must be ensured.
The Lord wants to save the families in Europe because he
wants to save the men and women that comprise them. For this he came
into the world, suffered at human hands and gave up his own life. For
this he offers himself every day in the Eucharist. It is he who sends us
to these families.
With his help, the pastoral action of our Church in
Europe can and must bring a new springtime for the family. The
approaching 10th anniversary of the Year of the Family in 2004 offers us
a fitting framework for a renewed commitment in favour of the values of
the family and life.
NOTES
The rise in births outside of marriage is parallel
to that of cohabitation. In 15 years, the percentage of children born in
Europe to parents who are not married has gone from 10 to 25%, with a
peak in Sweden (55%), but only 9% in Italy and 4% in Greece. France
continues to be among the average: in 2000, 43% of births in this
country took place outside of marriage, and 55% for the first child.
B. Houchard, La famille: Une idée neuve en Europe, Fondation Robert Schuman, Paris, 2000, p. 20.
P. Krémer, 2001 année exceptionelle pour les naissances et les mariages, Le Monde, 7 February 2002, p. 10.
In 2002, in France (INSEE, 2001, 2002), the average age
for women at civil marriage was 28.1 and for men 30.2. In 1980, this was
respectively 23 and 25 years of age. Spain (UNFPA, 1999), which until a
short time ago showed an inverse trend in Europe with very young
spouses, has come close to the figures for France (between 23-24 for the
woman and 25-26 for the man in 1980; between 26-27 for the woman and
29-30 for men in 1993). These figures are also valid for the European
countries as a whole (B. Houchard, 2000). The average age at marriage in
Europe is 29 for men and 26 for women. Even though the Portuguese and
the Belgians tend to get married earlier compared to the Swedes and
Danes, the same trend is noted towards later marriage. This explains in
part the low birthrate seen in these countries.
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, United Nations Population Fund, Fertility and Family Surveys in Countries of the ECE Region. Standard Country Report. Spain, 1999, Geneva, p. 13.
B. Houchard, La famille: Une idée neuve en Europe, Fondation Robert Schuman, Paris, 2000, p. 18.
INSEE Bilan démographique 2001. Le regain des naissances et des mariages se confirme, n. 825, February 2002, p. 3.
INSEE Bilan démographique 2002. Légère diminution des naissances, n. 882, January 2003, p. 3.
P. Krémer, 2001, année exceptionnelle pour les naissances et les mariages, Le Monde, Thursday, 7 February 2002, p. 10.
John Paul II, Address for the Inauguration of the Judicial Year of the Roman Rota, 28 January 2002; ORE, 6 February 2002, n. 5, p. 6.
In 1970 in Europe there was an average of 10 divorces
for every 100 marriages. Twenty-five years later in 1995, there were 30
divorces. A higher divorce rate is found in Belgium, followed by Great
Britain, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands.
Next come France, Luxembourg, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy.
Italians divorce relatively little despite the fact that the divorce law
has been in force in Italy since 1970.
B. Houchard, La famille: Une idée neuve en Europe, Fondation Robert Schuman, Paris 2000, p. 19.
According to the Statistical Office of the European
Community (Eurostat 2001), the number of marriages in the European Union
(15 countries) has decreased from 2,247,900 in 1980 to 1,926,700 in
2001, while the number of divorces has gone from 503,300 in 1980 to
705,600 in 2001. The rate of marriage per 1,000 inhabitants has
decreased from 6.3 in 1980 to 5.1 in 2000, while the rate of divorce has
gone from 1.4 in 1980 to 1.9 in 2000. The highest number of divorces is
recorded in Lithuania and Estonia (a rate of 3.2). In 2001 in the
United Kingdom there were 155,000 divorces (a rate of 2.6) per 306,000
marriages (a rate of 5.1). In Germany in 2001 there were 195,000
divorces (a rate of 2.4) per 389,000 marriages (a rate of 5.1). In
Italy, on the other hand, in 2001 there were only 37,600 divorces (a
rate of 0.7) per 280,000 marriages (a rate of 4.9). Spain is the country
in the European Union where fewer divorces are recorded (39,000 in
2001, with a rate of 1, compared to 210,000 marriages, with a rate of
5.3).
Eurostat, Premiers résultats de la collecte de données démographiques pour 2001 en Europe, Table 5. See http/www.europa.eu.int./comm/eurostat/.
In France, the tendency to divorce, which slowed around
the end of the 1980s, reached a new peak in 1995, with 119,000 divorces
compared to 280,000 marriages. The years 1997 and 1998 were marked by
stabilization at a high level of approximately 116,000 divorces. More
than a third of marriages celebrated in this country in the 1980s ended
in divorce, while the ratio in the 1960s was only 16%. The risk of
divorce is greatest around the fifth year of marriage and then decreases
steadily. However, the increase in the divorce rate after 30 years
concerns all marriages, regardless of their duration, and so divorce
after 30 years of marriage was three times more frequent in 1999 than in
1979.
P. Krémer, La France est championne d'Europe de la natalité, derrière l'Irlande, Le Monde, Sunday-Monday, 10-11 September 2000.
INSEE, Bilan démographique 2001. Le regain des naissances et des mariages se confirme, n. 825, February 2002, p. 4.
Laws regarding registered cohabitation: Holland,
January 1998; Resolution of the Parliament of Catalonia, which gives a
framework to stable couples, including same-sex couples: 1 July 1998;
Law on the Civil Solidarity Pact (Pacs) promulgated in France: 15
November 1999. Other laws that give a legal framework to de facto
unions: Norway (1993), Sweden (1995), Belgium (2000), Germany (18 July
2001).
In France in 2001, 296,000 marriages were celebrated
with a rate close to 5 marriages per 1,000 inhabitants for the second
consecutive year. However, this figure fell to 288,000 in 2002, i.e.,
8,000 less than in 2001 (-3%). On the contrary, the "Pacs", which gives a
framework to de facto unions, recorded increases in 2002: in the first
nine months of the year 17,000 Pacs were registered, i.e., an increase
of 25% compared to the first nine months of 2001. At the end of 1999,
6,200 Pacs were signed, 23,600 in 2000 and 14,000 during the first three
trimesters of 2001. A total of 65,000 Pacs have been made since this
regulation was created at the end of 1999. For every 100 marriages
celebrated, 8 Pacs are registered.
P. Krémer, 2001, année exceptionnelle pour les naissances et les mariages, Le Monde, Thursday, 7 February 2002, p. 10.
INSEE Bilan démographique 2001. Le regain des naissances et des mariages se confirme, n. 825, February 2002, p. 3.
INSEE Bilan démographique 2002. Légère diminution des naissances, n. 882, January 2003, p. 3.
John Paul II, Address to the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, 21 January 1999, n. 5.
Resolution of the European Parliament on the equal
rights of homosexuals and lesbians in the European Community,
A3-0028/94, 8 February 1994. Laws permitting homosexual "marriage":
Denmark (1989), Sweden (1993), Norway (1994), Holland (15 September
2000, 20 December 2000, came into force on 1 April 2001), Germany (10
November 2000, promulgated on 18 July 2001, came into force on 1 August
2001, confirmed by the Constitutional Court on 17 July 2002), Belgium
(28 November 2002).
A. Franco, Les Pays-Bas inventent le mariage homosexuel ou "partenariat enregistré", Le Monde, 17 January 1998, p. 1.
A. Leparmentier, Le Bundestag adopte le mariage homosexuel, Le Monde, Sunday 12, Monday 13 November 2000, p. 3.
A. Franco, Gay, gay, marions-nous à l'hôtel de ville d'Amsterdam, Le Monde, Tuesday, 3 April 2001, p. 1.
Zenith, Allemagne: entrée en vigueur de la loi sur les unions homosexuelles, Wednesday, 1 August 2001.
Olanda: gli omosessuali possono sposarsi e adottare bambini, Medicina e Morale, 2001, n. 3, p. 552-553.
La Cour constitutionnelle valide le "mariage homosexuel" allemand, Le Monde, Friday, 19 July 2002, p. 4.
N. Calmes, La Belgique dit oui au mariage homosexuel, La Croix, Thursday 28 November 2002, p. 7.
Laws authorizing persons of the same sex to adopt
children: Holland (15 September 2000, 20 December 2000, came into force
in April 2001), United Kingdom (Tuesday, 5 November 2002).
A. Franco, Les homosexuels néerlandais pourront se marier et adopter des enfants, Le Monde, Friday, 15 September 2000, p. 3.
A. de Joing, Aux Pays-Bas, les homosexuels pourront se marier et adopter, La Croix, 20 December 2000, p. 9.
J.-P. Langellier, La Grande-Bretagne autorise l'adoption par les couples homosexuels, Le Monde, Friday, 8 November 2002, p. 6.
W. Lutz, B.C. O'Neill, S. Scherbov, Europe's Population at a Turning Point, Science, 28 March 2003, vol. 299, n. 5615, pp. 1991-1992.
Almost two-thirds of women (70%) in Europe use
contraceptive methods (24% combined pill, 8% intrauterine devices (IUD),
5% prophylactics, 19% coitus interruptus or periodic continence,
12% sterilization). In France, for example, 75% of women use some
contraceptive method: 36% the pill, 20% intrauterine devices, 5%
prophylactics, 1% other methods, 5% periodic continence or coitus interruptus, 8%
sterilization. The data is somewhat different for Germany where 75% of
women use contraceptive methods: 59% use the pill, 6% the IUD, 4%
prophylactics, 2% other methods, 3% periodic continence or coitus interruptus, and
1% sterilization. In Spain, 59% of women use contraception: 16% the
pill, 6% the intrauterine device, 12% prophylactics, 22% periodic
continence or coitus interruptus and 4% sterilization. In Italy,
78% of women use contraception: 14% the pill, 2% the IUD, 13%
prophylactics, 2% other methods, 46% periodic continence or coitus
interruptus, 1% sterilization.
United Nations, Population Division, Levels and Trends in contraceptive use as assessed in 1998. Key findings.
[The UN data given above does not make the important
distinction between artificial contraceptive means and the natural
methods for responsible procreation].
In 1971 in Great Britain there were 95,000 legal
abortions compared to 783,000 births, i.e., one abortion for every 8
births. In 1986 the number of legal abortions rose to 148,000 with
661,000 births, i.e., one for every 4 births. In the U.S.A., the number
of voluntary abortions has grown parallel to the development of
contraception in that country, going from 586,760 in 1972 to 1,297,606
in 1980, to 1,330,414 in 1993. The number of "voluntary interruptions of
pregnancy" in France has decreased only slightly in the past 20 years
from 250,000 in 1976 (immediately after the liberalization of abortion)
to 220,000 a year in 1994, with the most significant decrease between
1981 and 1988. Now almost 70% of French women between 18 and 49 years of
age use some contraceptive means.
M. Clarke, Fertility and Legal Abortion in England and Wales: Performance indicators for Family Planning Services, British Medical Journal, 10 October 1988, vol. 297, n. 6652, pp. 832-833.
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, vol. 45, n. 11, 22 March 1996, pp. 235-238; 1997, 45, pp. 1123-1127.
J.Y. Nau, Le nombre des interruptions volontaires de grossesse ne cesse de diminuer, Le Monde, Wednesday, 11 June 1997, p. 9.
John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Evangelium Vitae, n. 13, 25 March 1995.
The average Total Fertility Rate (TFR) for Europe, which
was 2.1 in 1980 (for 18 European countries), is currently 1.5 (1.5
births per woman), which is far below the necessary threshold for the
replacement of the population (2.1). Since 2000, 15 country members of
the European Union have entered a stage of population decline (negative
moment); if this persists until 2020, it will lead to a decrease in the
European population equivalent to 88 million in 2100 (W. Lutz et al.,
2003). For example, the TFR in France was 2.93 in 1950; it decreased to
2.73 in 1960, to 2.47 in 1970, to 1.94 in 1980, to 1.78 in 1990 and
reached its lowest level in 1994 (1.65), and then rose again to 1.9 in
2001 (G. Pison, 2002). For Germany, the TFR was 2.03 in 1970, 1.48 in
1975, 1.25 in 1995 and 1.36 in 1998. For Italy it was 2.43 in 1970; it
fell to 2.21 in 1975, 1.64 in 1980, 1.42 in 1985, 1.33 in 1990, 1.2 in
1995, and has remained at that level since then (INED, 2003). In 2000,
the TFR was 1.89 in France, 1.89 in Ireland, 1.78 in Luxembourg, 1.76 in
Denmark, 1.73 in Finland, 1.65 in Belgium, 1.64 in Great Britain, 1.54
in Sweden, 1.54 in Portugal, 1.34 in Germany, 1.32 in Austria, 1.3 in
Greece, 1.25 in Italy and 1.22 in Spain (P. Krémer, 2002).
W. Lutz, B.C. O'Neill, S. Scherbov, Europe's Population at a Turning Point, Science, 28 March 2003, vol. 299, n. 5615, pp. 1991-1992.
P. Krémer, 2001, Année exceptionnelle pour les naissances et les mariages, Le Monde, Thursday 7 February 2002, p. 10.
G. Pison, La Population de la France en 2001, Population & Sociétés, April 2002, Table 1.
INED, pays développés, indice synthétique de fécondité (nombre moyen
d'enfants par femme), dernière mise à jour, January 2003, http:
//www.ined.fr/population-en-chiffres.
E. Bursaux, p. Krémer, L'INSEE prédit un
"vieillissement inéluctable" de la population dans les prochaines
décennies. En 2011, les moins de vingt ans seront moins nombreux que les
plus de soixante ans, Le Monde, Wednesday, 28 March 2001, p. 11.
After being adopted in April 2001, the law on euthanasia
in Holland came into force on 1 April 2002. A very similar law was
promulgated in Belgium on 28 May 2002. Contrary to the Netherlands,
Belgium does not authorize euthanasia for minor children.
A. de Jong, Les Pays-Bas légalisent l'euthanasie, La Croix, 29 November 2000, p. 9.
P. Benkimoun, La législation de l'euthanasie par les Pays-Bas suscite des réactions hostiles, Le Monde, 12 April 2001.
A. de Jong, Les Pays-Bas ouvrent une brèche, Wednesday 3 April 2002, p. 1, 4-5.
J-P. Strootbants, La Belgique légalise sous conditions l'euthanasie, Le Monde, Saturday 18 May 2002, p. 5.
On 8 November 1994, the State of Oregon, U.S.A., became
the first State to legalize medically-assisted suicide. Attempts made by
the U.S. Federal Government to invalidate the law were stopped on 17
April 2002 by a decision of the Federal Judge Robert Jones of Portland.
A. Alpers, B. Lo, Physician-Assisted Suicide in Oregon, JAMA, 9 August 1995, vol. 274, n. 6, pp. 483-487.
W. Booth, Oregon Law On Assisted Suicide Upheld, Washington Post, 17 April 2002.
A. Liptak, Judge Blocks U.S. Bid to Ban Suicide Law, The New York Times, 18 April 2002.
V. de Vezins, Quelques vérités cachées sur la
famille. La structure traditionnelle résiste beaucoup mieux qu'on ne le
croit aux évolutions des moeurs, Le Figaro, Thursday, 4 May 2000.
X. Lacroix, Tous les modèles familiaux se valent-ils?, in "Hommage à Mgr Gérard Defois", Mélanges de Sciences Religieuses, special issue, Lille, 2001, pp. 217-222, See p. 218.
Children who grow up in a single-parent family, most
often with their mother following a divorce, or more frequently a
refusal to live as a couple, represent more than 15% of the children
under 16 in Great Britain, 14% in Finland and Denmark, 12% in Ireland,
10% in Belgium and Germany, between 8-9% in France, 7% in the
Netherlands and Portugal, 6% in Italy and Spain, and less than 5% in
Luxembourg and Greece.
B. Houchard, La famille, une idée neuve en Europe, Fondation Robert Schuman, Paris 2000, p. 20.
Martine Segalen, Les liens familiaux n'ont jamais été
aussi forts. Il existe aujourd'hui un "nouvel esprit de famille", fondé
sur des liens affectifs, qui respecte l'autonomie de chacun, La Croix, Tuesday, 9 April 2002, p. 14.
Idées reçues: "La fidélité n'a plus la cote". Faux, La Croix, Tuesday, 9 April 2002, p. 14.
The John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family was instituted with the Apostolic Constitution Magnum Matrimonii Sacramentum
of 7 October 1982. It is authorized to confer a License and a Doctorate
in Sacred Theology, and a Master's in Sciences of Marriage and the
Family. The Institute is located at the Pontifical Lateran University,
and with John Paul II's approval of the Statutes on 21 November 1992 and
17 March 1993, it became autonomous.
Annuario Pontificio 2002, Vatican City, p. 1652.
"To nourish ourselves with the word in order to be
"servants of the word' in the work of evangelization: this is surely a
priority for the Church at the dawn of the new millennium.... Over the
years, I have often repeated the summons to the new evangelization. I
do so again now, especially in order to insist that we must rekindle in
ourselves the impetus of the beginnings and allow ourselves to be
filled with the ardour of the apostolic preaching which followed
Pentecost". John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, 6 January 2001, n. 40.
"At a time in history like the present, special attention must also be given to the pastoral care of the family,
particularly when this fundamental institution is experiencing a
radical and widespread crisis... it is necessary to ensure that through
an ever more complete Gospel formation, Christian families show
convincingly that it is possible to live marriage fully in keeping with
God's plan and with the true good of the human person". John Paul II,
Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, 6 January 2001, n. 47.
Pontifical Council for the Family, Lexicon. Termini
ambigui e discussi su famiglia, vita e questioni etiche, Ed. Dehoniane, Bologna 2003.
