Family Life

Question 1

What are modern day attitudes towards family life

Answer 1

• the majority of families are still nuclear
• single parent families
• cohabiting parent families
• reconstituted/blended families
• increased promiscuity has led to higher teen pregnancy rates
• smaller average family size

Question 2

Why is family life important to Catholics

Answer 2

• “the wellbeing of the individual person and of both human and Christian society is closely bound up with the healthy state of family life” CCC 1603
• the family is the basic unit of society
• the parents should teach children right from wrong and introduce them to the Christian faith

Question 3

How does the church help support families

Answer 3

• help with the upbringing of children

- help to keep families together

Question 4

How does the church help with the upbringing of children

Answer 4

• running Catholic schools that teach children in a Christian environment
• helping children to prepare to participate in the sacraments
• encouraging children to participate in worship and prayer
• arranging children’s play ground and youth clubs

Question 5

How does the church help to keep the family together

Answer 5

• encouraging couples to seek reconciliation instead of separation
• providing marriage preparation courses
• giving opportunities to celebrate marriage
• training priests to support couples through difficulties
• supporting parishes to ‘family friendly’
• running charities that support families

Question 6

What were the attitudes to family life in the 1950’s

Answer 6

Vast majority of people lived in a nuclear family