The 1976 U.S. Catholic Bishops' Call To Action Conference in Detroit

A.D. 1977
Detroit Recommendations
Family

 

I Recommendation: Support for Family Values

Christ, our Savior, both beautifully and forcefully spoke of the permanence and indissolubility of marriage. In response to his teaching and to assist the whole Catholic community to reaffirm its support of the beauty, dignity and sacramentality of marriage and the family and to increase its awareness that Christian marriage is to be a great sign of Christ's love for the church, we recommend:

1. That this assembly affirm: a) that committed, life-long marriage is a part of God's plan; b) that when husbands and wives love each other, they serve God; c) that children are an expression of the creative fruitfulness of human life and love; (1) that to live in peace and security is the right and duty of every family, beginning in service to its members; e) that each family, as one among many families in the world, finds fulfillment in service to others; f) that within the common bonds of faith, each family has the right, and is encouraged to express its religious values within the context of its cultural heritage and to share it with others; g) that within the Christian family commitment marriage and family life should also enhance the freedom of men and women to fulfill their personal potential and participate fully in the life of their world; and h) that there is a powerful witness in loving families in which parents have been separated by divorce, death or economic crisis and in which a single parent and children cooperate in nurturing and supporting one another.

2. That the whole church, through the example of the lives of its members and through action undertaken in cooperation with other religious and civic groups, pledges itself to combat those contemporary social, economic and cultural forces which threaten all families.

There is a special need within the church that theologians collaborate in developing further the theology of matrimony. Recognizing the special needs of married couples and families, we strongly believe that a catechesis of marriage, sexuality and family based on contemporary and sound theology and the lived experience of the married should be implemented on every level of the church's life. This educational process should involve the church in educational programs for effective parenthood. This catechesis should create a favorable impression of marriage and an appropriate understanding of sexuality.

3. That the church, with the leadership of the bishops, develop a comprehensive pastoral plan, for family ministry based upon a continuing process of dialogue between families and competent authorities.

Recognizing (lie value of the traditional nuclear family, we see a need to broaden our concept and practice of family ministry to families of diverse lifestyles, including, but not limited to, singleparent families, childless couples, widowed and separated people.

In developing such a plan, particular concern should be shown for:

a. The racial, ethnic and cultural diversity of the Catholic community;
b. The need for family-centered worship and religious education, both in the home and in the parish; we further recommend that Sunday be truly the Lord's day by establishing that day as a family day for all the members of the parish. In addition to the liturgy, the day shall include educational, recreational, and paraliturgical celebrations;
c. Pastoral programs which encourage formation of family groups for prayer, worship, sacramental preparation, marriage enrichment, family life education and mutual support, either within parishes or across parish boundaries;
d. The need for consideration of the family in Catholic programs of social service at all levels;
e. The need to develop an overall vision of social legislation that will strengthen marriage and foster family life, including legislation to protect the rights of parents to the moral guidance of their children;
f. The need to utilize the resources of other private and public agencies in the community if the needs of all families are to be served;
g. The need to formulate diocesan policies that would not only stress marriage as a sacramental vocation within the church but also apply some of the same safeguards and principles of preparation utilized in readying candidates for holy orders;
h. The need for providing information, counselling and support for families who have members who are part of a "sexual minority."

We recommend, further, that the bishops declare in the near future a family year.

4. That the bishops in conjunction with existing Catholic marriage and family life movements provide a national structure to formulate and implement a pastoral plan for integrated family ministry. This structure should involve:

a. Establishment of a standing committee of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops with responsibility for marriage and family life. Furthermore, we strongly recommend the enlargement and support of the National Family Life Office by July 1, 1977.
b. Prompt establishment and support for diocesan family life offices with appropriate diocesan, vicariate, deanery and parish committees. To further this goal, we urge that every diocese name at least a family life liaison officer by September 1, 1977.
c. Recognition of the special competency of permanent deacons and lay people, especially married couples, in family ministry by seeking them out and assuring them roles of leadership and authority.
d. Appropriate training for all those involved in leadership positions in family ministry.
e. A just allocation of church resources, on every level, for family ministry programs and a review of all present church budgets in order to bring about an equitable distribution of personnel and finances for supporting these programs.

II Recommendation: Family and Society

In order to assist the Catholic family to fulfill its responsibility to assist other families and participate in the redemption and transformation of society through an awareness of the constitutive gospel dimension of action on behalf of social justice, we recommend:

1. That all programs dealing in family life, at all levels in the church, address in a special way the specific education of families in making them aware of the needs of others in their neighborhood, their local communities, or in the world community. These family life efforts will work with other social justice agencies to create environments and develop programs which encourage families to get involved in an action and reflection process in the service of others and the attainment of justice.

2. That ministry to strong marriages, as well as those in difficulty, be recognized as part of the social justice dimension of family life and that organizations and movements which specialize in marriage and family life include and/or develop programs dealing with the social justice dimension of family life and provide materials, models, resources and skills to enable families to open -themselves to the injustices in the world, to reach out to those in need, and to provide channels through which they can contribute to the solution of such problems of injustice.

3. That the entire Catholic community regularly and systematically participate in developing a clear position on public policy and legislation. This public policy and legislation most specifically should promote societal conditions based on human rights and social justice which allow all families and individuals to function as free human beings. Further, public policy and legislation should protect the rights of families to participate in decision making regarding, but not limited to, education, total health care, and moral guidance of their members.

In order to help families arrive at positions of personal involvement and organized political action, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and each diocese should work out mechanisms for organizing families into coalitions on family-related issues. To achieve these ends, we recommend the establishment of pastoral councils on the national, regional, diocesan, district, parish and neighborhood levels. State Catholic Conferences and the United States Catholic Conference, in implementing programs for political responsibility and social action, should consult with these councils and give priority attention to developing positions on issues of public policy which affect family life. Where possible, there should be ecumenical participation.

4. That families, as part of a pastoral social justice program related to media, and aided by parish and diocesan family life commissions, in cooperation with diocesan communications offices, the United States Catholic Conference Department of Communication, UNDA-USA (Catholic Association of Broadcasters and allied communicators) and the Catholic Press Association and other religious and civic organizations and coalitions,
-Initiate or support efforts to evaluate the impact on family life of present and developing social communications media.
-And suggest positive actions for family utilization of and involvement in media.

That families, especially with the structures mentioned above and other organizations and coalitions dedicated to better broadcasting:
-Work to promote the human and aesthetic quality of network and local programming and policies in order to counteract dehumanizing values of consumerism and materialism;
-Work for the further limitation of programming depicting excessive violence and irresponsible sex:
a. Through government regulatory agencies;
b. Through local station accountability and ascertainment procedures;
c. Through influencing program sponsors.

That families work again through the above mentioned structures to support programming which reinforces family values.

III Recommendation: The Church and Divorced Catholics

We pledge ourselves to a serious effort to reconcile separated, divorced and remarried Catholics within our community of faith. Toward that end we recommend:

1. That dioceses and parishes extend pastoral care to separated, divorced and divorced/remarried Catholics by the development and implementation of effective programs of ministry, education, and group support.

2. That the people of God in the local Catholic communities put an immediate end to practices which brand separated, divorced, and divorced/ remarried Catholics as failures or discriminate against them or their children in parish or diocesan activities; further, that educational programs be developed and funded aimed at eliminating discriminatory attitudes which underlie these practices.

3. That the church leaders publicly address the request of the divorced who have remarried to receive, under certain conditions, the sacraments of the church. We ask this because many Catholic people do not understand that many divorced who have remarried are not necessarily excluded from the eucharist. We ask the bishops to develop more consistent, equitable, effective and more pastorally oriented procedures for dealing with annulment and dissolution of marriages throughout all the dioceses of the United States of America.

4. That the church invest in serious study of the causes of marital breakdown with particular attention to the impact of cultural conditions on marriage and family life. These studies, conducted in dialogue with married as well as separated, divorced, and divorced/remarried Catholics, would help shape realistic Policies for strengthening family life.

5. That the bishops of the United States take the action required to repeal the penalty of automatic excommunication decreed by the Third Council of Baltimore for Catholics who "dare to remarry after divorce".

 

Reprinted with permission of the Quixote Center.