ROME — Pope Francis once again affirmed the centrality of traditional man-woman marriage for society on Friday, calling it “the primary cell of our communities.”
“The mutual love between man and woman is a reflection of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves the human being, destined to be fruitful and to find fulfilment in the common work of the social order and the care of creation,” the pontiff told directors of the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe.
“The family founded on marriage is therefore crucial,” the pope continued. “It is the primary cell of our communities and must be recognized as such, in its unique and indispensable regenerative function.”
Upholding the traditional family is essential, Francis said, “because it represents the natural place of our first relationships and of regeneration.”
In his address, the pope also touched on key issues related to family, such as Europe’s worrisome low birthrate, the scourge of pornography, and the tragic practice of surrogate motherhood.
Europe’s “demographic winter” is “very serious,” he said, while urging greater attention to “the low birth rates in Europe and especially in Italy.”
“An aging Europe that is not reproducing is a Europe that cannot afford to talk about sustainability and finds it more and more difficult to be solidary,” he insisted, and states “have the task of eliminating obstacles to larger families and recognizing that family is a common good to be rewarded, with natural positive consequences for all.”
Moreover, the pope called out the lie of certain radical environmentalists who see man as the enemy of the environment and propose population control measures as a solution to ecological problems.
Having children “should never be considered as a lack of responsibility towards creation,” Francis said. “The concept of ‘environmental footprint’ cannot be applied to children, since they are an indispensable resource for the future” and families are “the best example of the optimization of resources involving large economies of scale.”
Pulling no punches, the pope called pornography a “scourge” and “a continuing attack on the dignity of men and women.”
“It is a matter not only of protecting children – an urgent task of the authorities and of all of us – but also of declaring pornography as a threat to public health,” he declared.
“We would be seriously deluding ourselves were we to think that a society where an abnormal consumption of internet sex is rampant among adults could be capable of effectively protecting minors,” he warned.
“The dignity of men and women is also threatened by the inhuman and increasingly widespread practice of the ‘rented uterus,’ in which women, almost always poor women, are exploited and children treated as commodities,” he asserted in relation to the practice of surrogacy.
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