MARFAM WEEKLY E-NEWSLETTER 17 JUNE 2026.  

This month we have already looked at children and their need to belong in a family.  Of course we are all children and all belong in families whatever our age or situation.   We oldies, mothers and fathers, often become almost childlike again and need the love and caring support of our young ones. In his message for the elderly for July 2026 Pope Leo writes,“ God is our father; even more he  is our mother” (Angelus, 10 September  1978). Even if it  does not come naturally  to  think this way, the truth is that even in  old age we do not cease to be sons and daughters; therefore, the  invitation to return to the arms of  God – whose love is both paternal and maternal and remains worthwhile at any age. 

For me, as a pro-family activist, commemorating some different days and events in this week alone is intriguing as well as challenging in lots of ways.  

SA Youth Day. SA commemorated the 16 June 1976 youth uprising against injustice in education and the oppressive Nationalist government clampdown.  50 years ago – a lifetime and more.  Parents had stood by and let this youth-led, pre-organised protest march occur, tacitly and for many unknowingly and so losing some of their influence. Those young black youth became the country’s heroes.  They suffered, some died,  others went into exile and they contributed greatly to the eventual 1994 onset of democracy. Other young people were affected too through compulsory national service, conscious objection, fleeing the country.  The turmoil of those years affected every family, politically and socially, morally and spiritually. The youth of 1976 are now the grandparents of 2026.   Where are they all now and what does the future hold for every generation, in the current turmoil of today? It is a meaningful outcome to note that this day is also known as The Day of the African Child.  

Fathers’ Day occurs on  Sunday 21 June.  Commercially it is a consumer-oriented event, a time to celebrate with, and to give to, dad, a happy day enjoyed by many families.  But it is an anomaly.   Fathers in many cases have been notably absent in young people’s lives, due to migrant labour at certain times, but poverty, urbanization and self-interest have contributed too. Today, 40% of children are growing up in a woman-led family and 80% will not have lived with both of their biological parents for the first 18 years of life.  The reality is that more kids are not with their real dad than are with him.  Large number of kids experience that lack, that loss, with pain and resentment.  Dads may experience guilt, loss and pain on different levels.  There may also be abandonment, lack of interest as well as exclusion, by the mother and her family as well as by the children themselves.    

World Refugee Day occurs on 20 June.  We are very aware of the complicated issue of migrants, in particular those who are undocumented, but also documented foreigners, mainly from neighbouring African countries.  Many are experiencing rejection and at times all of them are subjected to violence.  Issues for which the government must take responsibility are around border controls, visas, work permits, refugee and asylum status.  These justice issues complicate the situation greatly, leaving many ordinary local SA citizens, of every colour and economic status, angry and confused while the whole issue is one of political exploitation.  Stats SA figures state that less than 4% of the population are foreign migrants and the majority of these are male.  There are single men but also fathers who have left their families in order to find a better life, and earn a living for them elsewhere. But who is suffering from this particular father absence?     

Some of our neighbouring countries and those further afield in Africa experience different levels of internal conflict, some have civil war on a large scale with varying numbers of civilian casualties, humanitarian disasters, food insecurity and environmental degradation that is only partly weather related.  Millions of people are displaced across Africa, many within their own countries. Mothers are often left with children maybe living in refugee camps for years, but what of fathers? I’m told they run away or are drafted into national armies or radical political militias, as are boys who become child soldiers.  Abuse of women and girls by men who are fathers themselves is all too common.   If family life is universally considered to be a basic core structure of society what is the impact on family life of these continental disasters due to internal situations of injustice.   

From the wider perspective of our focus on “the world as a family of families”, fathers and youth are also issues in animals societies.  Most often mothers or social groups still look after the young,  but animal culture seems to be more stable and resilient.  Father king penguins, even now, still have to stand around with the incubating eggs on their toes while the moms go off hunting for food.  

When Pope Leo was in Africa in April he spoke about internal interreligious conflict in Cameroon.  In his Spanish apostolic journey he devoted time to migrants in the Canary Islands.  In all cases he calls for compassion and an acceptance, especially of migrants who have fled their home countries under extremely dangerous conditions.  He also called for the home countries to make the needed changes to end and prevent conflict in order for people to remain there and live in basic comfort. Poor political and economic governance and unnecessary poverty through corruption and mismanagement militate against this,

Many factors impact on family wellbeing and its ability to become a civilization of love.  The focus here is limited. Youth and fathers belong in families and the effect of migration – already noted by Pope Francis in Amoris Laetitia  is a serious breakdown in family life and reduces the normal setting for family wellbeing, i.e. family closeness, protection, cultural education.  Pope Leo’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas is not only about AI but contexts the technology in the principles of Catholic Social Teaching.  Human dignity and family matters are about the common good, inherent in all aspects of creation. He concludes with the words. With the same faith as Mary, let us become “weavers of hope” in our world, sharing who we are and what we have, so that the presence of Jesus may grow among us and his Kingdom take shape. In the humble fidelity of daily life, even the era of AI can become a time in which the Holy Spirit brings about the civilization of love in our lives. MH 245.    TR 17 June 2026

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY.

June 17, Youth and church. SEE.   The Archdiocesan youth ministry team developed a survey about church attendance and membership in youth programmes.   They wanted to find out why some young people like to go to church and others don’t. Some are forced or expected to go. Some enjoy the social fellowship, others the more spiritual side, having had an encounter with Jesus. Some go to meet friends, others go to make friends because they feel lonely and want to belong.  Some girls and boys go to show off in front of others.  Some want to be seen as holy, and some are genuinely “holy.“ The important question is “In what ways are they growing in their love of God, others and self?”was answered in a vaeity of ways.

JUDGE. Reflect, share. Scripture.  Beware of practising your piety before men in order to be seen by them.  For then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 6:1-6.  Pope Francis on youth ministry:  The Youth Synod called for the development of a ministry capable of being inclusive with room for all kinds of young people, to show that we are a Church with open doors for everyone, with their doubts and frustrations, problems and efforts to find themselves. It is enough to have an open mind towards all those who have the desire and willingness to be encountered by God.  CV 234.  Pope Leo:  In recent years, psychological and psychiatric literature has documented with growing insistence how early and unsupervised exposure to digital devices and social media can negatively impact sleep, attention span, control of emotions and relationships, especially during the most vulnerable stages of life, at times with tragic consequences,  We must learn, then, how to exercise restraint in the use of AI and to protect our young people from the promise of the perfect machine, from that subtle temptation which renders human thought seemingly superfluous precisely when it is most needed. MH141.

ACT AND PRAY.  Consider your attitudes towards the youth of today. Are we as the Church helping or hindering their path to holiness?