Hajja Salesjana - May June 2016

27 will be the first to abandon the principle of the family and embrace the new option. But up to this day no other has been found. Neither, we are convinced, will it ever be found, not unless the nature of man changes! The second reason that explains the “why” of the family, is the fact that throughout the animal kingdom, man is the one who is born so inept. We may say that we are all born too prematurely; with the big difference from most other animals who are active the moment they are born. For example, the young of the giraffe, succeeds on standing on its own legs just minutes after it is born; the same counts for the hen's chicks, for the young of the sparrow, of the quail, soon ready for their independence. The baby human, on the other hand, after birth, needs to continue developing. This can happen (it's from here that the argument springs!) only if you see someone who is already an adult and you make him your model. A person grows only by taking on from another. Even this is a natural rule, similar to that of a second heart. It is not the interaction with things that makes one grow; neither the contact with animals, but only the relationship with mature adults. In other words: the child, to grow up, needs to encounter, from birth, the presence of a man and a woman, adults in the sense of grown up and mature. From the very beginning, it is emphasised. It is abundantly proven, in fact, that it is the first years that will form and guide the rest of one's life. It is impossible to form adults if they are not welcomed lovingly, from birth, by someone who will teach them the first elements of the nature of human living. Let us sum up: the need for the comforting cradle is written in our DNA, whether it is to satisfy the innate need for belonging, or whether the necessity to learn to live humanly. At this point the consequences are logical. The family will never be a historical remnant: it is not a State nor a Church institution, but belongs to the natural order. Attacking the family is like shooting at the Red Cross!! Here we must agree with Giuseppe Mazzini when he says “Do not attempt to fiddle with the family, it is God's concept, not ours!”