Amoris Laetitia 17: Family Responsibilities

Remember that Amoris Laetitia is online in pdf format here. If one paragraph a day is too slow a pace for your personal curiosity, go there to read in full.

Today, a short reminder about not rights, but responsibility:

17. Parents have a serious responsibility for this work of education, as the Biblical sages often remind us (cf. Prov 3:11-12; 6:20-22; 13:1; 22:15; 23:13-14; 29:17). Children, for their part, are called to accept and practice the commandment: “Honor your father and your mother” (Ex 20:12). Here the verb “to honor” has to do with the fulfilment of family and social commitments; these are not to be disregarded under the pretense of religious motives (cf. Mk 7:11-13). “Whoever honors his father atones for sins, and whoever glorifies his mother is like one who lays up treasure” (Sir 3:3-4).

Pope Francis frames the family as a community with mutual responsibilities. Do parents have a “right” to be obeyed? Some children are more capable of this than others. Do children have a “right” to good formation? Some parents have good intentions and yet they seem to provide less well than others. It doesn’t seem fair, but it is a reality of being human. We are not perfect.

The wisdom in this brief passage is the Holy Father’s focus on what a person can do for her or his family members. Instead of focusing on what is “owed,” the believer concentrates on personal commitments. This seems to make things simple and manageable.

Speaking for myself, I concentrate on providing for my wife and daughter, on loving them, on making their life easy, on giving them honor and respect. If they were totally inattentive to that, my responsibility would not change.

Any readers have their observations about this passage?