International Familiaris Consortio Institute 2012 Congress Announcement

The International Familiaris Consortio Institute (IIFC), a specialized institute of the MSM, was established to promote the values set forth in the Apostolic Exhortation of the 1981 of the same name; namely, the promotion of the rights and interests of the modern Christian family. Its first appointed president, Chev. Carlos Gomes de Aguiar, a Knight of Our Lady who has headed a family association in Portugal (Associação Famílias -an NGO which also falls under the MSM umbrella) since its foundation by him in 1987, is a lay leader with great experience in this area.

The establishment of the IIFC was decided upon at the MSM Chapter of Honor in Chartres on 12 August 2006, its Statutes adopted on 15 August 2007, and its first meeting held on 4 May 2008 in St-Cloud. During its Founding Meeting , the IIFC was presented to Fr. Gildas Kerhuel, Secretary General of the French Conference of Bishops.

IIFC Foundation Committee, St-Cloud, France, 4 May 2008

In June 2010, the Institute held an international seminar in Braga, Portugal, with participants from five European nations, under the direction of Mgr. Carlos Simón Vasques, Under Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Family. The Seminar was entitled "Family, become what you are." In calling for the Seminar, Chev. Gomes noted that members of the IIFC in each country should: Analyze the situationof the Family and Life in their country (Abortion,Contraception, Marriage, Poverty Euthanasia, etc.); re-read Familiaris Consortio; understand the position of the Catholic Church in their country on these matters; and take concrete actions at national or IIFC level to address identified needs. IIFC Delegates were tasked with paying particular attention to the most difficult situations, such as poverty and social exclusion.

During the meeting, participants studied the situation of the family in Portugal, France, Austria, Great Britain and Spain, prayed, and reflected together on the possible IIFC actions. UK participants included Fiorella et Edmund Nash, as well as Chev. Stephen de la Bedoyere, MSM Preceptor of Great Britain.

The situation of family life in the countries represented was well covered by the various delegates, whose presentations covered: the influence on family life of the rapidly changing demography in Portugal; an explanation of the history of family legislation and the spread of family associations in France; the attempts of the UK government to impose sexual education on catholic schools and the impoverishment of young families by the tax system; and the instructive model presented by an MSM Austrian association for large families. Mgr. Vasques spoke movingly of the crisis point now reached in European civilization as witnesses by the fragmentation of society, and stated that the only solution lay in what he called the monogamous, indissoluble marriage open to procreation. He was saddened by the lack of will in some countries (including the UK) to take up the good work of the Pontifical Council for the Family. A quarterly international magazine, in the languages of the delegates, was proposed, to cover the issues of urgency. The Master of the MSM stressed that such a proposition reflected the spirituality of the Order, translating problem identification into action.

Mrs Nash’s and Preceptor de la Bédoyère’s presentation on “The state of family life in Britain” looked at two distinct subjects which are having a serious impact on family life in Britain at the present time:

1)  Government attempts to impose sex education onto Catholic schools and to remove the rights of parents as primary educators of their children.

2)  The socio-economic situation in Britain for families

Regarding Sex education, the following challenges and opportunities were noted:

• Anti-Catholic/anti-life sex education in schools, including the promotion of contraception and abortion to under-16s
• The Children, Schools and Families Bill and what it would have meant for families
• The Catholic hierarchy's response to the CSF Bill
• SPUC's Safe at School Campaign and possible future campaigning to protect the family

On the economy and the family, the following was stressed:

• The impact of the recession and rising house prices on family life
• The economic factors that are forcing women to return to work whilst their children are still very young
• The changing attitudes of mothers towards work outside the home and recent studies/surveys on the subject

Going forward, from the 5th through the 7th of October 2012, the IIFC will hold its first Congress in Paris and has, once again, been assured of the presence of Bishop Vasques. The theme for the Congress is to be: “The Family, object, subject, and actor of Evangelization."