MARFAM WEEKLY FAMILY MATTERS ENEWSLETTER 11 MARCH 2026

The whole of the month of March in SA is Human Rights month chosen because of the history of political resistance  against the  legal system of apartheid, which was seriously discriminatory but was not always and by everyone recognized as unjust. MARFAM’s uses the theme of Human Rights but focuses specifically on family rights within the more general focus.   The apartheid system certainly affected family rights in very many ways. Thousands of families were broken up due to migrant work and not being able to live together in cohesive relationships with married couples, parents and children and the extended family unit which is traditionally a norm. Forced removals and  dispossession of historical land, unequal education, and job reservation still have lasting effects on families.    After more than 30 years of the new democratic dispensation and political involvement in facilitating job opportunities for previously disadvantaged communities, economically the country has moved forward to some degree but the impact of families will take much longer to change for the better.    

Today different parts of the world are at war, a reality which has an enormous impact on families and their rights,   which in such situations are naturally ignored.  An article I came across about this long term impact presented a perspective I had hardly considered.  It stated that for every person killed between 2 and 10 people are affected negatively and often deeply traumatized. We constantly hear casualty reports, with Gaza stating over 60000 Palestinians have been killed.  It might also state that more than half are women and children and not active soldiers as would be smore the case in Ukraine.  It is seldom reported or considered that the women killed are likely mothers – maybe already widowed through loss of their men, and thousands of war orphans are created in all these wars. In Ukraine too hundreds of children have been abducted and taken to Russia.   The family structures of those societies are enormously disrupted by this trauma.   Should or could these consideration be included in negotations about ending wars, cease-fires and peace deals.  

In the same vein in a retreat for widowed and bereaved people which I presented recently we noted that while our loss, particularly of a spouse,  is traumatic, our extended family members, especially children suffer the pain of loss too.  Some widows  also acknowledged that the loss of their mothers has a lasting impact in their lives.   

As our Lenten reflections during this month of March also include the Year of St Francis we can consider if there is much that our patron saint of ecology and of the poor and of peace has said that is relevant.   His Canticle of the Creatures is a hymn of praise to God as Creator of “Brother Sun, Sister Moon and all the stars” as well as the elements to which he related in family terms, “Brother Wind, Sister Water and others.  He clearly saw all of creation as related, as family.  Pope Francis often repeated in Laudato Si, “everything is connected.”  Does that mean “everything is family” because of the nature of this connectedness?   What are the relevant qualities or characteristics as noted in Ecclesia in Africa, Pope St john Paul II’s exhortation at the 1994 Synod on the Church in Africa.  “Warmth in human relationships, dialogue, trust,” are relevant but other qualities are commitment to the common good.   I like to think this could be particularly considered  from the definition of what constitutes a human family as “An intimate community of life and love, bonded together for life by blood, marriage or adoption” from Familiaris Consortio.   The President of SECAM, the Symposium of Ecclesial Conference of Africa and Madagascar Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu,   recently stated that the African Synod image of THE CHURCH AS THE FAMILY OF GOD should be revisited.  That could meaningful while considering Human Rights month in our 3 countries.     TR   11 March 2026      

Th UN Charter of Human Rights, although focusing strongly on the rights of individuals, or “everyone,”  they do recognize the family as the basic unit of society and in need of protection and support.  Our SA Constitution uses similar language.   Also in March the UN commemorated International Women’s Day, with the theme . “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls.” This theme focuses on addressing legal gaps, dismantling structural barriers, and ensuring equal access to justice for women and girls.   I would have absolutely no objection to this if this was promoted in a family context, rather than only considering the female branch of society in isolation.  The St Anne’s sodality at a large gathering, while acknowledging their objective of supporting families, did focus on the gender-based violence problem more specifically facing women and girls.   At the same time I was happy to see the December Statement from the SACBC stating the need for a family-centred approach and restating the topic as “Domestic violence in families and relationships.”                

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

11 March.  Law and Morality. Stephen was a lawyer with a particular interest in family law and explained, “South African law is an application of the Constitution which is the highest law of the land and was developed after 1994 to reflect the will of the people.  When you look at it like that, you can see that these laws are not necessarily built directly on God’s law, the 10 Commandments or the two great commandments, ‘Love God and Love your neighbour as yourself.’  Being a democratic country, some aspects of the laws derive from majority opinions, a vote in Parliament, a decision by Cabinet, or even from those with the loudest voice.

In 1997 abortion was legalized even though most citizens were against making it freely available. Laws about adultery, divorce, same-sex unions, land, even legalizing dagga, are not necessarily seen as morally just. Not everything is subject to legislation or binding regulations. We, citizens, are entitled to challenge laws but have to refer to the Constitution. Temporary regulations like banning of alcohol and cigarettes during the Covid-19 lock-down were frequently challenged as to their legality.” David asked, “And traffic fines and e-tolls? How enforceable are they?” 

JUDGE, reflect and share. Scripture: What great nation is there that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law which I set before you this day.   Only take heed and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, make them known to your children and your children’s children. Deut 4:1-9.  Pope Francis. Families have a right to be able to count on an adequate family policy on the part of public authorities in the juridical, economic, social and fiscal domains. It is important to insist on the rights of the family and not only those of individuals.  AL44. St Francis lived in simplicity and harmony with God, with others, nature and himself. He shows us just how inseparable the bond is between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society and interior peace. LS 10.    Pope Leo: We must continue  to denounce the “dictatorship of an economy that kills,” and to recognize that “while the earnings of a minority are growing exponentially, so too is the gap separating the majority from the prosperity enjoyed by those happy few. This imbalance is the result of ideologies that defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation. Consequently, they reject the right of states, charged with vigilance for the common good, to exercise any form of control. A new tyranny is being born, invisible and often virtual, which unilaterally and relentlessly imposes its own laws and rules.”  DT92.

Reflect, share, act, pray. What cause could we support and adopt, individually or as a family that has to do with morality, legality and observance of the law?