Synod:
Family breakdown not a crisis in truth, but methodology
(Vatican Radio) The breakdown in
marriage and family life, particularly in Western culture is not the result of
“a crisis of truth, but rather as a crisis of methodology” and the “pastoral
programs that attempt to address the negative issues impacting marriage and
family life” fail to meet “the magnitude of the cultural challenges
facing us today”.
This is according to Jeffery and
Alice Heinzen who are from the diocese of Le Crosse, Wisconsin USA, were asked
to address the second part of the Synod’s working document, the Instrumentum
laboris, namely, “The Pastoral Program for the Family in Light of New
Challenges”.
Emer McCarthy reports:
In their testimony, the Heinzin’s
spoke of how the breakdown in family life is impacting in the handing down of
the faith between generations. They said that where once the home was the
domestic Church and the parent the primary educator in the faith – this is no
longer the case.
Sunday Mass, praying the Rosary
in the evening, visiting the sick, saving for the poor and even bed-time
prayers is no longer a norm in Catholic households.
Rising divorce rates and single
parent families, demand a re-think in pastoral methods in faith formation for
children who grow up without a witness to the beauty of life-long marriages.
Concluding, the Heinzin’s said
that greater emphasis must be placed on marriage as a vocation equal to all
others and greater attention to aftercare of marriage that can help couples
deepen their relationship.
In this Congregation, we shall
pass to the treatment of the Second Part of theInstrumentum laboris,
namely, The Pastoral Program for the Family in Light of New Challenges.
Under this heading is found Chapter One entitled,The Pastoral Program for
the Family: Various Proposals Underway. It covers numbers 50 to 60. To
refresh your mind, this chapter treats the following topics: The Responsibility
of Bishops and the Clergy and the Charismatic Gifts in the Pastoral Care of the
Family (50); Marriage Preparation(51-56); Popular
Piety and a Familial Spirituality (57); Support for a Familial
Spirituality (58); and Testimony on Behalf of the Beauty of
the Family (59-60).
The interventions will be
preceded by the personal, real-life testimony of Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Heinzen.
Both come from the Diocese of La Crosse in Wisconsin, in the United States of
America. Mr. Heinzen is the President of McDonnell Central Catholic School
System, belongs to the Knights of Columbus and is Director of the Office of
Marriage and Family Life for the Diocese of La Crosse. His wife, Alice, is
Natural Family Planning Coordinator in the same diocesan Office. Mr. Heinzen
has a Master of Science Degree in Vocational Rehabilitation and a Bachelor of
Arts degree in Psychology. Mrs. Heinzen has an Master of Science Degree in
Training and Development and a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical
Education. She is also a member of the Natural Family Planning Board for the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Association of
Catholic Family Life Ministers.
The Office for Marriage and
Family Life of the Diocese of La Crosse assists the Bishop in offering support
to priests and their parishes in the 19 counties of western Wisconsin in the
remote, proximate and immediate preparation for marriage and pastoral care of
married couples through events in marriage enrichment, mentoring and Catholic
counseling. The Office collaborates with the Office for Catechesis and
Evangelization to promote a thorough catechesis on the Sacraments of
Initiation, Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation. It supplies parenting
information with the Teaching the Way of Love series andParent’s
Place Website. In addition, the Office is proactive in defense of life from
conception to natural death, promotes and provides service in Natural Family
Planning services and supplies support and training to parishes in the Ministry
of Consolation.
Let us now listen to Mr. and Mrs.
Heinzen.
"Marriage,
a Life Journey of Authentic Love"
My husband and I have asked
ourselves this question: "How did our parents live their lives as a
married couple that has led us to where we are today as faith-filled married
Catholics?"
In our reflection we realized
that the witness of our parents, revealed in their daily actions God’s plan for
marriage and family life. I have fond memories of participating in neighborhood
Corpus Christi processions and my father leaving early for work to attend daily
Mass. During the month of May, I remember our family praying the rosary. I
remember the frequent tender kisses my parents readily gave each other. We
knelt beside our beds each night in prayer to ask for protection and blessings
on our family. Every Sunday, we attended Mass as a family, then went from
Church to visit our relatives. To all this we can add our mothers who reminded
us to always love our siblings, to use our best manners with others, and to
save our pennies to help those less fortunate. Our homes were schools of love
and virtue and our parents were the primary educators.
Our parents bore faithful witness
to the joy and beauty of God’s plan for love and life. Unfortunately, not only
in our evaluation of current culture, but also due to our pastoral experience,
we know that many young people do not see the witness of married love that we
experienced. So many youth grow up in homes broken by divorce or with no
experience of married parents due to out-of-wedlock pregnancies. We have
entered, as some social scientists have described, the age of the diminished
family structure. This is more than a crisis. To quote Saint John Paul II,
"[T]he role of parents as educators is so decisive that scarcely anything
can compensate for their failure in it." Sociological research testifies
to this problem and information in theInstrumentum Laboris confirms
it. Children raised without the blessing of married parents, who have created a
home animated by love and faith, will likely struggle to trust in God and their
neighbors. How can they create life-long marriages?
Our diocese in the United States
is not unlike those around the world. We have seen the number of marriages
decline each year and the rate of cohabitation increase. We have seen a steady
drop in the number of baptisms. We have watched our youth fall prey to the
confusion of a hedonistic culture. We know countless divorced adults who have
joined other faith communities because they do not feel welcomed in the
Catholic Church. And, our hearts ache for single parents who struggle to care
for their children. Like you, we strive to find simpler, more effective ways,
to better share the blessings of God’s plan for marriage and family.
The Instrumentum documents
pastoral programs that attempt to address the negative issues impacting
marriage and family life. Sadly, these efforts are not meeting the magnitude of
the cultural challenges facing us today. We must develop more robust and
creative methods to share the fundamental truth that marriage is a divine gift
from God, rather than merely a man-made institution. This will require us to
examine the methods by which we teach our children about the nature of human
sexuality and the vocation of marriage. When speaking of the call by God to
serve, marriage should be included in all programs designed to explore
vocations. And, it should compel us to ask how we provide for the aftercare of
marriage that can help couples deepen their relationship. We therefore see the
issue before us not as a crisis of truth, but rather as a crisis of
methodology. How do we as a Church, effectively share what we know to be true
in practical, simple and convincing ways, so that all men and women are
challenged and supported to live life-long marriages and build homes that
reflect the domestic Church?
In all of our pastoral planning,
we must remember that "nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:37).
Solutions to the identified crisis can be found. This Synod has the ability to
provide aid to husbands, wives and families. Let us open our minds and hearts
to the Holy Spirit so that God’s will may be accomplished.
(Emer McCarthy)
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