In the West, already for a long time has existed a cultural and social climate deeply marked by individualism, which did not herald anything good. It was in 1994, in the “Year of the Family”, that a real attack on the institution of the family was unleashed, which undermined its nature, stability, its function as the basic cell of society, and even questioned the meaning of the love of spouses. (…)
I remember one Sunday in one of the parishes in Rome. The Holy Father suddenly omitted the prepared text of the speech, giving the impression that he wanted to give vent to what he carried in his heart: “We must be courageous and fearless!” He tried to soften the tone to show that the Pope by his nature is a “gentle man” – literally put it that way. However, he did not manage to stop himself: “But, when it comes to rules, one should be strict!”
For him, the family was an essential element. He was convinced that in the hands of the family rests the future of the Church, society, and nations. He suffered seeing the word “family” gradually disappear from documents in international organizations, replaced by other, very ambiguous and very general concepts. (…) After all, you cannot change the nature of a man and a woman! It is one thing to analyze a certain rigid biological-bodily order that still exists between the two sexes to this day and another to overturn the meaning of the words “and created man and woman.” If we do not obey the laws of nature, we put the future of mankind at risk! For the “damage” caused today, we will have to pay tragically tomorrow! In this field, there was a clash that John Paul II had to fight with the modern world, or at least with a certain branch of the modern world. What could the Pope do? Accept human weakness? He only pointed out the right way, the one that is in accordance with the work of the Creator. He was only trying to walk in the footsteps of Christ. He was the Shepherd who led his sheep. He was not understood or they did not want to understand him.
With the consent of Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz – “Testimony”.
TBA Publishing House Marketing Communication. Warsaw 2007
