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| John Paul II - Longing for Family |
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 Important as Pope John Paul II's thoughts on family life are, they seem to have slipped below the radar. Upon the occasion of his passion, I read many of the journalistic accounts, as well as the extensive TV commentary, hoping all the while to hear a word concerning his views on family. Silence! It's as if he had nothing to say on the topic. That he spoke and wrote more about family life than all previous popes combined seems to have been overlooked. What a tragedy.I want to speak to this silence by making two basic assertions: 1. John Paul II had a profound insight when he called the family a community of person. 2. He positioned family at the heart of the church's life. When he became pope, Karol Wojtyla had his list of things he wanted to do. He brought from his earlier life as professor and bishop a set of priorities to implement. He soon learned that being pope gave him the opportunity to determine the agenda. Number one on his list was to affirm with all the strength of his office, the dignity of the human person. His very first encyclical, Redemptoris Hominis, is a hymn of praise and gratitude to Christ Jesus, the New Adam, the firstborn of the New Creation. In pointed theological language, the pope wrote, "Human nature, by the very fact that it was assumed, not absorbed, in him, has been raised in us also to a dignity beyond compare" (RH,8). Christ became a human person. Just like all of us. To be a person meant to be of God, of Christ and of more value than any other part of creation. He never tired of referring to the sacred dignity of every person. This conviction formed the foundation for his writings on church, social and political life. It fed his passion for the value of human life from conception until death. It fed his constant opposition to violence and international conflict. It fired his dealings with world leaders with whom he often risked relationships by insisting that there was no room for compromise when it came to the dignity of all people. So how did he come upon this value? Look at his early life. The main points are well known. He grew up within totalitarian political systems – first the Nazis and later the Communists. In both, the interests of the state dominated. The individual was considered but a pawn in the grand affairs of government. People were but means to an end. Numbers on a chart. Ultimately irrelevant. Easily dispensable. Karol learned that he had to hide his identity and interests. He took the role of a common worker in a stone quarry. His seminary experience took place in the back room of a rectory. He knew of his own value, but knew just as well that others could easily consider him dangerous. Imprisonment and death were ever a possibility. He kept a low profile so he could survive. He had to take care of himself and, if given the opportunity, he had to help others. A sense of his own human dignity demanded it. Valuing personhood was first, but he wrapped human value in the setting of family. When he used the phrase "community of persons" to describe family in Familiaris Consortio, the person piece meant a lot. He used this word 144 times in this document. It expressed fullness of dignity and equality for all built on humanity's closeness to God and to Christ. The concept of "community" is equally significant. It carries with it the richness of the Latin word, communio, a theological word that includes both union with God and union with others. That word was used 72 times in his exhortation on family. Energising the reality of family, he added that the family is joined by love which he called "the inner principle, its permanent power and its final goal." (FC,18). Having touched on his valuing of personhood, why his passion for family? My own guess is that it is especially because he lost his own family through death at an early age. He longed for family. He missed his parents and brother. He longed to experience their love and presence. He was a man filled with a desire to love, to be close to others, to give of himself in so many ways. Then, we have the wonderful words which summarise so well the heart of his view of family life. "The Christian family is also called to experience a new and original communion (communio) … The Christian family constitutes a specific revelation and realisation of ecclesial communion and for this reason it can and should be called the domestic church." FC,21. (my italics) For we who have given so much of our lives to family ministry, this articulation of belief is like finding a diamond while shovelling coal, like finding the last piece to a 5,000 piece puzzle under the living room sofa. John Paul brilliantly places the family right in the centre of church life. The communio of the church is its reason for being, its mission to the world, a task so desperately needed from local to global settings. Love is first experienced and learned in the family. The pope knew about systemic connections. Alter the centre and the rest will be changed. The church and the world in which it lives will be transformed. I'd say that's of central importance to his whole papacy. I can't believe the hundreds of reporters at his funeral missed it. David M Thomas, Ph.D. Repinted with permission from the Family Perspectives Journal published by the National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers. |
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