Forms of Work of Ecclesial Structures in Support of Family

Abstract

The article attempts to show the high status of ecclesial infrastructures in their work for the family. It reminds selected forms of the Church’s work in communities of special care serving the family, and points to the potential of support groups in resisting poverty and social exclusion of families; it also mentions contemporary examples of ecclesial networks. In the space of eighteen centuries ecclesial institutions were the main, and in a greater part of the period the only, current of aid to the family not only in the spiritual dimension, but also in many other ones – to mention the social, economic or medical areas only. No institution in our cultural circle has so much experience in supporting a man’s development both on the individual and social level as the Catholic Church. The Christian doctrine on charity determined the communities of the faithful to establish institutions supporting the development of man, and in modern terminology, centers for fighting poverty and social exclusion. Too little is done to point to Christian roots of accompanying a man in various aspects of his life.