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We declare that the family, a universal community based on the marital union of a man and a woman, is the bedrock of society, the strength of our nations, and the hope of humanity. As the ultimate foundation of every civilization known to history, the family is the proven bulwark of liberty and the key to development, prosperity, and peace.
Scripture
Genesis 1: 27-28; 2:18,22,24. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. ...And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him...And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man...Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Spoken Word
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“The family is the seedbed of economic skills, money habits, attitudes toward work, and the arts of financial independence. The family is a stronger agency of educational success than the school. The family is a stronger teacher of the religious imagination than the church. Political and social planning in a wise social order begins with the axiom ‘What strengthens the family strengthens society’…. The roles of a father and a mother, and of children with respect to them, is the absolutely critical center of social force.” —Michael Novak, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
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“Throughout the ages, political philosophers, social historians, and civic and religious leaders have praised the family as the foundation of the social order, the bedrock of nations, and the bastion of civilization.... The fact is that family is a universal and irreplaceable community, rooted in human nature and the basis for all societies at all times. As the cradle of life and love for each new generation, the family is the primary source of personal identity, self-esteem, and support for children. It is also the first and foremost school of life, uniquely suited to teach children integrity, character, morals, responsibility, service, and wisdom.” —US Statement to the United Nations General Assembly at the 10th anniversary of the International Year of the Family.
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"As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live." ––Pope John Paul II
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“As reflected in the precise and elegant terms of the Universal Declaration, the family is not merely a construct of human will or imagination. The family has a profoundly important connection to nature. This connection begins with the realities of reproduction (underscored by recent studies which demonstrate that children thrive best when raised by married biological parents) and extends to the forces that shape civilization itself…. The family is the ‘natural and fundamental group unit of society’ precisely because mounting evidence attests that the survival of society depends on the positive outcomes derived from the natural union of a man and a woman.” —Richard G. Wilkins
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"The Family is the foundation of co-existence, and a remedy against social fragmentation." —Pope Francis
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"Apart from religious influence, the family is the most important unit of society. ...When the family is destroyed, society eventually disintegrates." —Billy Graham