Geneva 1999: A Call from the Families of the World

We come together from diverse national, cultural, social and faith communities to affirm the natural human family. The natural family is the fundamental social unit, inscribed in human nature, and centred around the voluntary union of a man and a woman in a lifelong covenant of marriage for the purposes of:

• satisfying the longings of the human heart to give and
  receive love;

• welcoming and ensuring the full physical and emotional development of children;

• sharing a home that serves as the centre for social, educational, economic, and spiritual life;

• building strong bonds among the generations to pass on a way of life that has transcendent meaning; and

• extending a hand of compassion to individuals and households whose circumstances fall short of these ideals.

Today, however, certain social, political and economic forces threaten the natural family, tearing the social fabric at local, national and international levels. Under slogans such as “modernity,” “globalization,” and “progress,” and in the name of “Civil Society,” these forces have weakened the bonds between husband and wife, parent and child, and the generations.

These ideologies deny the natural origin and status of the family, the equal but complementary roles of men and women, the miracle of human fertility and procreation, the dignity and worth of every human person, and the autonomy of the family itself. The family, which develops and sustains not only individuals but all larger communities, has been subordinated to the agendas of pressure groups, ignored by economic decision-makers, and subjected to social experimentation.