Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 369.

YOUCAT Question n. 369 - Why are families irreplaceable?

(Youcat answer) Every child is descended from one father and one mother and longs for the warmth and safety of a family so that he may grow up secure and happy.   

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 2207) The family is the original cell of social life. It is the natural society in which husband and wife are called to give themselves in love and in the gift of life. Authority, stability, and a life of relationships within the family constitute the foundations for freedom, security, and fraternity within society. The family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honor God, and make good use of freedom. Family life is an initiation into life in society.      

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) The family is the basic cell of human society. The values and principles that are lived out in the small circle of the family are what make solidarity in the life of larger society possible in the first place.

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 2208) The family should live in such a way that its members learn to care and take responsibility for the young, the old, the sick, the handicapped, and the poor. There are many families who are at times incapable of providing this help. It devolves then on other persons, other families, and, in a subsidiary way, society to provide for their needs: "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world" (Jas 1:27).      

(The next question is: Why should the State protect and promote families?)