The joy of love experienced by families is also the joy of the Church”, states Pope Francis in the opening words of his apostolic exhortation on love in the family Amoris Laetitia.
The Church considers families as her basic units as domestic churches. Families are the basic cell of the society as well. The joy of love experienced in the families is the joy of the church and the society as well in building a better world.
Families not knowing how to cope with the challenges and problems, the people in family displace their frustrations on other members of the family, or take recourse to substance abuse (e.g. alcoholism). Some break down with depression and other psychological syndromes, thus creating a bigger problem for themselves and their families. Such a situation aggravates the difficulties and challenges of family atmosphere.
Fissures and fractures appear in family life, where spouses are moving away from each other, causing a rising number of divorces and separations, parents at conflict with their children, there unhealthy sibling engage in rivalry, consumerism contributing to a growing emptiness and rise in the phenomenon of family disharmony. Ultimately, family life becomes a loveless and joyless experience.
With the breakdown in the joint family system, rapid urbanisation and nuclearisation of families there is little or no adequate support for individuals and families. The Commission for Family seeks to provide adequate assistance to marriage and families. A large amount of our resource is spent to build good marriages through Marriage Preparation Courses (MPCs) and Marriage Enrichment Programmes (MEPs).
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