All members of the family, each according to his or her own gift, have the grace and responsibility of building day by day the communion of persons, making the family “a school of deeper humanity”. This happens where there is care and love for the little ones, the sick, the aged; where there is mutual service every day; when there is a sharing of goods, of joys and sorrows. –John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation ON THE FAMILY
The Catholic Faith, rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, believes in and strives to put into practice the love revealed in Christ. The love of the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit – one God in Three Persons – is the model for every “communion of persons”, especially the Family. In the healthy and vibrant family each person contributes to the well-being of the other, each in their own unique way. A Mother, or Father, or Child can never be replaced. Each one is an irreplaceable and inestimable good which contributes the very life of the family. Thus, the Family, by its very nature, becomes a “school of love” where the virtues necessary for the building of a just and peaceful society are taught, developed, and put into practice in the concrete reality of daily life. It is for this reason that the Church has recognized in the family the fundamental building block of Society as a whole.
In the family we discover a good that can only be realized within a relationship of love with another. Such relationships are not always easy, and very often range from the inconvenient to the downright demanding. We find ourselves coming face to face with one another’s faults: our mutual tendency towards selfishness, manipulation and control of the other. And so family relationships are often difficult. But from a Catholic perspective, these difficulties, when faced with patience, mercy, and above all generosity, lead to the virtues of wisdom and prudence and right judgement. We discover once again how to live together in joy and in peace which spill over into our life with others in society.
Our society’s attempt to overcome these difficulties, on the other hand, by “freeing” us from the demands of family obligations and family bonds with the promise of giving each the “freedom” to do as they wish without reference to the needs and demands others, leads not only to a growing sense of loneliness and even isolation, particularly among the aged, infirmed, and those most in need of the assistance of others, but perhaps more importantly, leaves us without the virtues we need to face and overcome our own selfishness. “Other people” increasingly become either instruments for me to use to get what I desire, or else threats whose competing desires and interests compete with my own self fulfillment. It is for good reason that the breakdown of the family coincides with an increase in violence on the streets of our cities, an increase in societal tensions among groups (racial and otherwise) within our communities, and increases in addiction and sexual abuse. We in the Archdiocese of New Orleans are painfully aware of these problems. They have unfortunately become part of our every-day experience and a focus of our pastoral ministry. Hope for the future of society, then, is rooted in the renewal of the family. And for this reason, we at the Archdiocese of New Orleans are committed to the building of a culture of the family.
We are committed to
Among others, the archdiocese offers the following Services and Programs to support those who primarily bear the responsibility for establishing and sustaining a rich and vibrant family life – namely married couples and those planning to marry.