Rodzina suwerenna - Kościół domowy : w nurcie współczesnej myśli prawnej Kościoła powszechnego i Kościoła w Polsce

Abstract

The institution of family has been for a long time at the centre of attention for both the Magisterium and the ministry of the Catholic Church. It would be difficult to dispute the fact that it is precisely through the family — “which constitutes a ‘unit’ in the great, universal ‘family’ of mankind” (GrS, n. 4) — that the history of mankind, the history of salvation can progress, and further propagation of the “Gospel of the family” is regarded as one of the crucial elements of new evangelisation. That is why, among the many different ways in which the Catholic Church serves the man, “the family is the primary and, for many reasons, most important way” (GrS, n. 2). This magisterial thesis is referenced by both the canon law itself as well as the science of canon law, particularly in the act of focusing the truth about the immanent legal dimension of marriage on the inner bond of justice between two people: a man and a woman (“a sacred bond”), constituted in the act of covenant of marital love. This juridicial horizon is established by contemporary research conducted by the aforementioned institutions at three complementary levels: (inter)personal, social, and ecclesiastic. The best and most efficient results, however, are yielded by joining different research perspectives, or, in other words, the universal with the particular — in this particular case: “integrated” exploration of the legal and legal-pastoral thought of the Universal Catholic Church and the Polish Catholic Church. Family, based upon the foundation of marriage, constitutes a primary, independent social subject with its own basic rights, and it plays a crucial role in the development of society. At the same time, this fundamental social unit constitutes a sphere in which the Church becomes realised. The Catholic Church, “in the family, born of sacrament, finds its cradle and the place in which it enters humankind as well as the place in which humankind enters the Church” (FC, n. 15). Such complex understanding of the virtues of “independent family: domestic Church,” redefined by the fathers of the Second Vatican Council, can be summarised in the conciliar enunciation that “the happiness of a subject and the entire human and Christian society is closely connected with an auspicious status of the marital and domestic community” (GS, n. 47). This matter, however, begs further consideration. First of all, it should be noted that after the Second Vatican Council, several significant Church documents concerning marriage and family have been published, most notably, John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation Familiaris consortio (1981) as well as his letter to families Gratissimam sane (1994), or Charter of the Rights of the Family, issued by the Holy See in 1983. Secondly, looking back on the past fifty years, it has been possible to observe a dynamic development in family ministry, coupled with the emergence of numerous Church associations as well as other pro-family organisations. The Second Vatican Council has established that marriage, as a “profound communion of life and marital love appointed by the Creator” (GS, n. 48), is by its very nature aimed at conceiving and raising offspring (CIC, can. 1055 § 1). According to the conciliar teachings, the obligation to raise children — resting primarily with the parents — encompasses, among others, the religious sphere of life, focusing predominantly on the act of passing on faith. Moreover, in numerous post-conciliar documents issued by the Holy See, and John Paul II in particular, as well as Church legislation, the parents’ duty to raise their children in faith is regarded as a significant task. In a family based on marriage, the child, guided by and led by example by the parents, should cultivate and enrich the faith bestowed upon them at their baptism. In this sense, family can truly be regarded as the cradle and school of faith. In the Church constitutional order, the Christian family constitutes the fundamental community. In fact, the assertion of the constitutional status of the family seems to be legitimate on all accounts — especially considering that the institutum familiae constitutes the primary basic structure on which the People of God can build, develop, and organise. That ideological line of thought, based upon the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, has been for the longest time, and still is, up to this day, a certain challenge for the Polish synodal legislation. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that in the resolutions of the Second Polish Plenary Synod (1991—1999), as well as those of the Cracow Provincial Synod (1975—1983) and forty-four post-conciliar diocesan synods, there can be found significant focus on the matters of family. The synodal legislators pay particular attention to the value of the family, which plays significant role not only in the lives of the spouses, but also those of the Church and the secular community. They are particularly concerned with the well-being and development of the Christian family, and they attempt to shield it from modern threats to its stability. This concern can also be found in the resolutions of the Second Polish Plenary Synod (The Calling to Marital and Familial Life), as well as in the resolutions of the Cracow Provincial Synod and the diocesan synods — primarily with regard to the condition and duties of the contemporary family (wellbeing of the spouses, conception and upbringing of children), family ministry (obligations, main directions of action), as well as the care of people living in so-called irregular marriages. In-depth research — focusing on the model idea of the “domestic Church” and accounting for the truth about the institution of the family regarded as a “natural relationship, primary to the state or any other community” (Charter of the Rights of the Family, preamble D) — corroborates the hypothesis concerning the paradigmatic role of this idea in the search for the ways and means of effective hic et nunc protection and promotion of the family along with its inalienable rights. Such conclusions follow from a synthetic attempt at answering the question of which factors of the pastoral reality in Poland allow us to view the future of the family with optimism and how — by utilising the “tool” that is the synodal legal-pastoral responsibility for “the fundamental unit of the Church and the society” — to reinforce the observed positive trends. Thus, constructive conclusions can be reached in several areas of Polish family ministry: 1) The central place of the Eucharist, family prayer and Sunday celebration; 2) Movements and “family associations for families;” 3) Media in the service of family evangelisation; 4) The Catholic family safeguarding the sanctity of life; 5) The challenge of “new femininity;” 6) Marriage preparation as a ministry priority; 7) Engagement: the promotion of values of the “domestic Church.”