THE FAMILY AS THE NUCLEUS OF SOCIETY: A DIVINE MANDATE

UKWUEZE CHINEDU OLIVERIf any group of human beings has the right to be called a society,

that group is the family.1 However, the family in our present day

society is faced with a lot of challenges. Grounds for concern are

high rate of divorce, a stronger assertion of the independence of

spouses, an increasing number of single-parents families, a

weakening of the authority of parents over their children, a

greater incidence of stepparents, and the growing practice of non-

marital unions2.

The need to address these challenges facing the family is not only

a societal issue but a divine mandate. Thus herein attempt shall

be made to discuss the family as the nucleus of the society. A

clarification of the basic concepts shall be made before tracing

the origin of the family, the problems facing the family as a

nucleus of the society and the remedies that can be taken to

ameliorate the condition of these problems facing the family as

the nucleus of the society.

1 Fagothey, Austin. Right and Reason: Ethics in Theory and Practice. North Carolina: Tan Books, 2000. P.358.2 Peschke, H. Karl. Christian Ethics: Moral Theology in the Light of Vatican II. Vol. 2. Bangalore: Theological Publications, 2010. P. 581.

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CLARIFICATION OF TERMS

FAMILY: Different types and conceptions of the family exist but

for the benefit of our discussion, a family shall be seen as “a

society consisting of husband or father, wife or mother, and their

children.”3 Thus our discussion shall be centering on the human

family which springs from a monogamous marriage.

NUCLEUS: This means a central or most important part in something.

It refers to the vital aspect of something.

SOCIETY: Different types and conceptions of the society exist but

for the benefit of our discussion a society shall be seen as “a

stable union of several persons working together for some common

end.”4 This means that the discussion shall be strictly on the

human society.

ORIGIN OF THE FAMILY

The origin of the family shall be viewed on two directions:

Argument from nature and the magisterial teaching of the Church.

3 Op. Cit. Fagothey, Austin. P. 359.4 A Catholic Dictionary. 3rd ed. Donald Attwater. Ed. North Carolina: Tan Books, 2010. P. 468.

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ARGUMENT FROM NATURE

The family has its origin in marriage; marriage is directed to the

family as its goal. Aristotle in his defense of marriage as a

natural institution argued that the formation of the family is

natural to the human person. According to him, ‘between man and

wife friendship seems to exist by nature; for man is naturally

inclined to form couples- even more than to form cities, inasmuch

as the household is earlier and more necessary than the city, and

reproduction is more common to man with the animals.’5 This implies

that the human person is by nature more inclined to live as a

couple than to associate politically, since the family is

something that precedes and is more necessary than the state.

Thus, the formation of families is natural to the human person

from time immemorial. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in

its article 16 interprets this fact when it introduces the family

as “the natural basic element of society.”6

5 Fagothey, Austin. Right and Reason: Ethics in Theory and Practice. North Carolina: Tan Books, 2000. P.361.6 Pazhayampallil, Thomas. Pastoral Guide. Vol;2. Bangalore: Christu Jyoti Publications, 2012. P. 783.

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Thomas Aquinas agreed with Aristotle also in his defense of

marriage as a natural institution and equally argued that the

formation of the family is natural to the human person. According

to him, “that is said to be natural to which nature inclines.”7

Commenting on his argument, Austin Fagothey outlined the

following:8

1. Nature intends the continuance of the human race, because

nature has given human beings the faculty and instinct for

reproduction. Nature intends that this occurs by a union of

man and woman. This union of man and woman for procreation

occurs in a family.

2. The duty of caring for the child naturally devolves on the

parents. This duty can only be properly carried out in an

established family. The parents are the cause of the child’s

existence and are therefore charged with caring for its

welfare. The human infant is so helpless that it cannot be

left all alone. The child needs intense care within the

family for years before it can live a full independent life.

7 Op. Cit. Fagothey Austin. P. 361.8 Ibid. Pp 362-63.

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Therefore the parents are designed by nature as the child’s

proper guardians.

3. The duty of rearing the child belongs to both parents and not

to one alone. Together they gave the child life and together

they must care for it, not in lives apart and independent,

but in that joint life which makes up the family.

From the foregoing, it can be deduced that the nature’s design in

establishing sex is the propagation of the race, and is primarily

directed to the child. Also the duty of caring for the child falls

on the parents, and this ought to be done until when the child had

attained full maturity. Lastly, the rearing of the child belongs

to both parents. This means that the father and the mother of the

child must join hands in training the child. This can only be

properly achieved within a family setting in marriage. Thus

procreation and proper upbringing of children demands that a

family must be established.

MAGISTERIAL TEACHING OF THE CHURCH

In Genesis 1: 28, it was recorded that God after creating man and

woman blessed them saying, “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the5

earth and subdue it.” The command, be fruitful and multiply by God

means power to reproduce their kind.9 The man and woman created by

God formed the first family. Catechism of the Catholic Church No.

2203 agrees with this authorship of the family by God when it

asserts that “in creating man and woman, God instituted the human

family and endowed it with its fundamental constitution.”10

Similarly No. 16 of the proceedings of the Synod of Bishops in its

Extraordinary General Assembly of October 2014 on the family

equally maintained that God instituted the family and that the

family is in God’s divine plan for humanity. It equally declared

that the family of origins, that is, the first family referred to

when God the creator instituted the primordial marriage between

Adam and Eve, as a solid foundation for the family: he created

them male and female (Genesis 1: 24-31; 2,4b).

Furthermore, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern

World, Gaudium et Spes No. 48 also held that, “the intimate

partnership of married life and love has been established by the

Creator and qualified by His laws, and is rooted in the conjugal

9 The New Revised Standard Bible. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. 10Catechism of the Catholic Church. Kaduna: Baraka press, 1994. p. 516.

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covenant of irrevocable personal consent....For, God Himself is

the author of matrimony, and has endowed it with various benefits

and purposes.”11 This means that since God is the author of

marriage, He is equally the author of the family because the

family has its origin in marriage. On the whole the teaching

authority of the Church sees God as the author of the family.

THE FAMILY AS THE NUCLEUS OF THE SOCIETY

The family is the first, fundamental and most natural type of

society, composed of father, mother and children; it is the basis

of all human society and exists for the good of its individual

members.12 A society is only as healthy, as stable, as energetic,

and as imbued with moral values as its families. A nation can be

strong even if it sustains crushing economic and political

burdens, so long as its families are strong. The life of the

nation as well as that of the Church depends upon its families.

11 Gaudium et Spes no. 48 in Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post-Conciliar Documents. Austin Flannery. Ed. Bandra, Mumbai: St. Pauls, 2001. P. 83512A Catholic Dictionary. 3rd ed. Donald Attwater. Ed. North Carolina: Tan Books, 2010. P. 188.

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No wonder Pope St John Paul II in Familiaris Consortio No. 42

maintained that the family is the first and vital cell of the

society. In his words “since the Creator of all things has

established the conjugal partnership as the beginning and basis of

human society," the family is "the first and vital cell of

society." The Supreme Pontiff further upheld that the family has

vital and organic links with society since it is its foundation

and nourishes it continually through its role of service to life.

It is from the family that citizens come to birth and it is within

the family that they find the first school of the social virtues

that are the animating principle of the existence and development

of society itself. Thus, far from being closed in on itself, the

family is by nature and vocation open to other families and to

society and undertakes its social role.

The Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People, Apostolicam

Actuositatem No. 16 not only saw the family as being the nucleus

of the society but saw the role of the family as the nucleus of

the society as being divine when it asserts that, “the mission of

being the primary vital cell of society has been given to the

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family by God himself. This mission will be accomplished if the

family, by the mutual affection of its members and by family

prayer, presents itself as a domestic sanctuary of the Church.”13

The Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 2207 equally saw the

necessity of the family being the nucleus of the society when it

maintained that, the family is the original cell of social life.

It is the natural society in which husband and wife are called to

give themselves in love and in the gift of life. Authority,

stability, and a life of relationships within the family

constitute the foundations for freedom, security, and fraternity

within society. The family is the community in which, from

childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honour God, and

make good use of freedom. Family life is an initiation into life

in society.14 In like manner The Holy See, Charter of the Rights

of the Family in October 22, 1983, observed that the family, a

natural society, exists prior to the State or any other community,

13 Apostolicam Actuositatem no. 11 in Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post-Conciliar Documents. Austin Flannery. Ed. Bandra, Mumbai: St. Pauls, 2001. P. 686.14Catechism of the Catholic Church. Kaduna: Baraka press, 1994. p. 516.

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and possesses inherent rights which are inalienable.

No 2 of the proceedings of the Synod of Bishops in its

Extraordinary General Assembly in October 2014 on the family saw

the need to proclaim the Gospel of the family as a divine mandate

when it asserts that, “despite the many signs of crisis in the

institution of the family in various contexts of the “global

village,” the desire for family remains alive, especially among

the young, and is at the root of the Church’s need to proclaim

tirelessly and with profound conviction the “Gospel of the family”

entrusted to her with the revelation of God’s word in Jesus

Christ.” No 25 of the proceedings equally saw this need of

proclaiming the Gospel of the family as an urgent task when it

declared that, “proclaiming the Gospel of the family is urgently

needed in the work of evangelization.” Going further to No 26, the

synod fathers upheld that the work of evangelizing is the shared

responsibility of all God’s people, each according to his or her

ministry and charism and also maintained that without the joyous

testimony of married people and families, proclamation, even if

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correct, risks being misunderstood or submerged by a flurry of

words which is characteristics of our societies.

PROBLEMS FACING THE FAMILY AS THE NUCLEUS OF THE SOCIETY

At this point, it is worthy to note that Pope Pius XI encyclical

on Christian Marriage (Casti connubii, 1930), shall be of help

unless when expressly mentioned or cited otherwise. The dangers to

family life especially as it affects the society today are:

DIVORCE: Divorce cuts at the very heart of marriage. Divorce

affects families in such a way that it causes emotional scars on

the children. Children of divorced parents suffer from lack of

stability and purpose.

ADULTERY: Another danger to family is adultery. Adultery is an act

of sexual gratification enjoyed with another who is not one’s

conjugal partner. It is the act by which the right of a man is

violated in his wife and the right of the woman is violated in her

husband.15 Adultery does to marriage what termites do to the wood

15 Akpan, T. Stephen. Infidelity in Christian Marriage: Causes, Effects and Remedies. Abuja: Iduma Industries Nig. Ltd, 2011. P. 103.

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or what AIDS does to the body.16 Adultery strikes against the

total fidelity which the marriage bond demands. The lives of

adulterers and that of their families are testimonies of what

adultery does to a marriage and the family.

ABORTION: This is a great evil and a serious offense against

family life. It is the wanton and excruciatingly painful

destruction of a completely innocent child. Pro-abortion groups

try to minimize the evil and make us callous to it. No one has a

right to kill an unborn child. To claim such a right would be the

same as to claim a right to exterminate anyone who poses an

inconvenience to us.

CONTRACEPTION: Contraception both in and out of marriage is a

serious danger to the well-being of marriage and family life. This

is because it is a direct attack upon the life-giving dimension of

the marital act. It is targeted against human fertility, a real

human good, which it mistakenly perceives to be an evil.

Contraception, as predicted by Pope Paul VI, in his prophetic

16 Ibid. P. 104.12

encyclical Humanae Vitae, has disastrous consequences. There is a

direct connection between contraception and abortion. If we are

willing to contracept, then we grow accustomed to abortion, since

the latter is now considered a "safety net" for unsuccessful

contraception. Contraception depreciates sexuality into

sensuality. It degenerates love into lust. Our fertility, a God-

given gift, is now perceived by many to be a dreaded disease. All

these are consequences of false interpretations of human

sexuality. They all affect our marriages and the quality of family

life.

CHALLENGE OF BIRTH REGULATION: The challenge here is that of

responsible parenthood. Indeed for the overall welfare of the

family and nation, married couples are expected to give birth to

the number of children they can cater for. What the Church

encourage married couples to do here is to adopt natural means of

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birth regulation.

CHALLENGE OF A CHILDLESS MARRIAGE: While some families face the

problem of regulating birth, others are concerned with

childlessness after years of marriage. In African culture that

sees begetting of children as a major reason for marriage,

childlessness may bring with it immense anguish, torment and

humiliation, especially to wives who are often blamed for it. In

fact, this problem leads to divorce. It equally leads to polygyny,

thereby making the man to marry more than one wife mostly in

search of children.

DISREGARD FOR CHASTITY: Chastity is a virtue which regulates our

powerful human passions. The family ought to be taught the true

purpose of sex; that genital sex is an authentic statement only in

marriage. Disregarding the virtue of chastity consigns us to

becoming slaves of our passions. The Church loves the marital

embrace, that is, authentic expressions of genital sex. She

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rejects all counterfeits. Pornography offends against chastity by

stirring up the fires of human passion. Our sexuality demands our

respect and prudent guidance. Only the Church, appointed by God to

be a reliable moral guide, can adequately teach the virtue of

chastity to our families.

RADICAL FORMS OF FEMINISM: Radical form of feminism is another

serious threat to family life. It decrees that children, creating

a home and a family are demeaning to a mother and wife, and that

self-fulfillment can only be found outside the home in a career.

Mothers are the heart of a family. Tear the heart out, and what is

left? Strong, vibrant, healthy families do not just happen. They

require the nurturing, guidance, and character formation which

only mothers can provide, with the help of their spouse. If

children are not given the care and love they need, then they

suffer. In our society, mothers and wives are under-appreciated,

while radical feminists are over-exposed by the media.

CHALLENGE OF HOMOSEXUAL UNIONS: The insistent demand by

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homosexuals for legal recognition of same sex unions is

undermining the understanding of marriage and family life today.

In the African culture, homosexuality is an abomination.17 The

Church considers it an act of grave depravity, which is

intrinsically disordered and contrary to the natural law.18

Homosexual unions pose a great challenge to the family as a

nucleus of the society because children who are the future of the

society cannot be begotten from this kind of union.

CHALLENGE OF SUSTAINING THE EXTENDED FAMILY: The bond of the

extended family is a cherished cultural heritage in Africa which

must not be allowed to die out. Pope St John Paul 11 referred to

this cultural heritage when addressing the sick and the old at St

Charles Borromeo Hospital, Onitsha on 13th February 1982 when he

said: ‘In Nigeria you have the beautiful cultural value of the

extended family system. The sick and the old are not abandoned by

their children, their nephews and nieces, their cousins or other

kindred. The wide umbrella of charity has a roof for all. This is17 Ugorji Iwejuru, Lucius. The Challenges of Christian Families in our Times in West African Journal of Ecclesial Studies. Vol. 10. Njoku, Uzochukwu J. et al. eds. Owerri: Wajes, 2012/2013. P. 122. 18 Ibid. P. 122.

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a precious heritage that must be maintained.’ On that he also

noted that: ‘This ideal is under pressure, especially in the

cities and towns, where the old are sometimes cut off from the

extended family. The abandonment and solitude of the old results

when a great cultural value has been taken away and has been

replaced by something totally un-African.’19

HOW WE CAN PROMOTE THE FAMILY AS THE NUCLEUS OF THE SOCIETY

How do we promote good, happy and healthy families and family

life? The Church, the state, education, and the business community

must all help here.

THE CHURCH: To promote the family as the nucleus of the society

the Church must explain the moral law, which is God’s plan for

marriage and family life? The Church has been of tremendous help

in that she does this from the pulpit and in diocesan newspapers,

and especially in papal documents. She describes what the

responsibilities of parenting are. She explains why the dangers to

marriage and family life are to be avoided, and provides special

19 Ibid. P. 123.17

helps to support good families. She prepares young couples for

marriage. She makes available Catholic schools from kindergarten

to the university level, where faith and moral truths are part of

the learning experience. She provides classes in Natural Family

Planning, family counseling, and pastoral care, especially in the

sacrament of reconciliation and forgiveness. She counteracts such

contemporary trends as hedonism, abortion, euthanasia, and value-

free sex education. Most importantly, she provides the sacraments,

whereby every man, woman, and child can obtain the spiritual help

they need to resist temptation, to pursue virtuous living, and to

grow in the worship and praise of God. As Church men and Church

men in potency we ought to follow the foot paths of the Church and

proclaim the authentic Gospel of the Family.

THE STATE: The state ought to help in proclaiming the family as

the nucleus of the society by enacting legislation which is pro-

family. It must do this by providing the material infrastructure

which all civil life requires. It must protect the rights of all

its citizens, especially the weakest and the unborn. It must not

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make it financially advantageous for mothers not to marry, or for

fathers to abandon their families. It must establish good

standards for all levels of public education and for public health

care.

PUBLIC EDUCATION: This must help to promote good marriages and

family life by cooperating with parents and Churches in the

formation of students. They must help discourage anything which

weakens the fabric of family life, e.g., teenage promiscuity,

disrespect for legitimate authority, and a disregard for moral

principles. All educators, in public and private schools, must

recognize the primary role of parents in education and cooperate

with their wishes and directives.

THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY: Employers must advance healthy family life

by its policy towards the families of its employees. Favourable

and good policies on maternity leaves, insurance for on-the-job

accidents and a family wage must be enacted. A corporation can

help families in an economically depressed area by creating useful

jobs to these areas. Providing incentives and scholarships to

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teenagers in drug-ridden ghettoes, giving them hope for a brighter

future is also commendable and useful in proclaiming the family as

the nucleus of the society.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, it is worthy to note that the proceedings of the

Synod of Bishops in its Extraordinary General Assembly in October

2014 on the family on various occasions emphasized that Catholic

families are called upon to be the active agents in every pastoral

activity on behalf of the family. In fact not only Catholic

families but all families must be made to understand that the task

of proclaiming the family as the nucleus of the society as well as

working towards its realization in all ramifications possible is

not only an urgent task but that which pleases God and as such a

divine mandate. Finally, the realization of this need to proclaim

the family as the nucleus of the society is not only a task

incumbent on the ordained or the clergy but a task for all.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

A Catholic Dictionary. 3rd ed. Donald Attwater. Ed. North Carolina:Tan Books, 2010.

Akpan, T. Stephen. Infidelity in Christian Marriage: Causes,Effects and Remedies. Abuja: Iduma Industries Nig. Ltd, 2011.

“Apostolicam Actuositatem No. 11” in Vatican Council II: TheConciliar and Post-Conciliar Documents. Austin Flannery. Ed.Bandra, Mumbai: St. Pauls, 2001.

Catechism of the Catholic Church. Kaduna: Baraka press, 1994.

Fagothey, Austin. Right and Reason: Ethics in Theory and Practice.North Carolina: Tan Books, 2000.

“Gaudium et Spes No. 48” in Vatican Council II: The Conciliar andPost-Conciliar Documents. Austin Flannery. Ed. Bandra, Mumbai:St. Pauls, 2001

Pazhayampallil, Thomas. Pastoral Guide. Vol. 2. Bangalore: ChristuJyoti Publications, 2012.

Peschke, H. Karl. Christian Ethics: Moral Theology in the Light ofVatican II. Vol. 2. Bangalore: Theological Publications,2010.

Pius XI's Encyclical On Christian Marriage “Casti connubii,” 1930.

Pope John Paul II's Encyclical On The Role of the Christian Familyin the Modern World “Familiaris Consortio,” 1981.

Proceedings of the Synod of Bishops in its Extraordinary GeneralAssembly on the family, October 2014

The New Revised Standard Bible. New York: Oxford University Press,1994.

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