Calls on couples to protect the family institution

(August, 06, 2011) “A society built on the family scale is the best guarantee against drifting into individualism and collectivism,” said Fr Ferdinand Lugonzo, Secretary General of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA), officiating at the opening session of a training of couples on Natural Family Planning at the Little Daughters of St. Joseph Spirituality Centre in Karen, Kenya, held from 31st July to 6th August. Couples have been asked to protect the institution of the family which is facing threats from modern life trends. The marriage institution is facing systematic and programmatic threats from modernity, said Fr Luongo, urging couples to remain vigilant. “In the present society, there are many systematic and programmatic attacks on marriage and the family. These include single parenthood, polygamy, same sex unions, divorce mentality, securalism, moral decadence, negative media and the internet,” he added..The AMECEA Secretary General gave an analysis of Pope Paul VI encyclical letter, ‘humane vitae’, which lays a lot of emphasis on Natural Family Planning. He noted that the family plays an important role in shaping the society through formation of children. “The family is the first natural society,” he said. “It is the first and most fundamental structure in which children receive the first formative ideas about truth and goodness. If the family lives in the will of God, then we will have a humane society. It is therefore important that the family is protected so as to help the children find their identity.”Fr. Lugonzo called on the couples to embrace totality, unity, indissolubility, fidelity and fruitfulness as the bases for strengthening their marriages. He urged them to recommit themselves to faithfulness and fidelity for their marriages to blossom. Above all, he asked them to commit their families to God through prayer. “Family life is founded on family prayer, sharing the word of God and making the sacraments part of family life,” he said. . The couples who attended the training sessions were drawn from the dioceses of Homabay, Eldoret, Nakuru, Nairobi, Nyeri and Nyahururu.