Brno, 15th May 2024
Today, on International Day of Families, FAFCE passed a resolution on the centrality of the family in the ecological transition. Hosted by FAFCE’s Czech Member organisation in Brno, the Spring Board Meeting’s resolution connected ecology and human dignity with concerns regarding child poverty, the protection of minors and digital safety, and the demographic winter.
FAFCE’s resolution emphasises a hopeful message. Unanimously approved, the resolution calls for “candidates to the European Parliament elections, European institutions and all national governments to put families at the centre. There is no possible protection of the environment without the protection of the family.”
Vincenzo Bassi, FAFCE’s President, concluded: “The problem is not the children but consumerism. There is no ecology without the person; no person without the family. Therefore, there is no ecology without the families and communities of families at the heart of the transition”.
Continuing, he says: “Crucial to the success of the ecological transition will be intergenerational solidarity, which requires a protagonisation of the family and networks of families. It is through these networks that we can combat the pandemic of loneliness and build a hopeful future. As more than 400 million Europeans vote in June for the next parliament, we remind political representatives that to protect the planet is to protect the family“.
The adopted resolution is entitled Integral ecology needs at its core the recognition of the family. Recalling Dignitas Infinita and Laudato Si’, the resolution underlines that the “human dignity of every human person prevails over and beyond any circumstance and context”.
The Board also accepted a new full member organisation, Accoglienza della Vita (San Marino) which was already an observer in the Federation and a new member observer organisation within the Federation, from Spain: Asociación Católica de Propagandistas (ACdP). Founded in 1909, the ACdP is one of the oldest Catholic lay organisations in Spain, whose main pillar is the participation of Catholic laity in public life.
FAFCE Board Members also heard contributions and activity reports from member organisations across the continent and a contribution from members of the Shield Platform. The next ordinary Board Meeting will take place in Brussels, in November 2024.
Only days from the Holy Father’s Spes Non Confundit Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025, the members of FAFCE exchanged about their upcoming activities in 2025, especially on raising awareness on family networks and the demographic winter, because “it is urgent that responsible legislation on the part of states be accompanied by the firm support of communities of believers and the entire civil community in all its components”.
