John Paul II on the Polish Family Abroad

Abstract

In over 30 addresses which John Paul II delivered to Poles and Polonia in different countries in the years 1979 to 1987, the family belongs to that which he most often dwelt upon. In principle, the Pope talks about two functions of the family: socio-psychological and religious. His addresses present the family as a religious society. They present in a comprehensible way the duty of preserving by that society the cultural heritage which people bring from their homeland. The Popes's addresses point to the threats which the family is subject to and they put forward certain general postulates.

The first task mentioned by the Pope and which the family is confronted with is the preservation of its own spiritual identity abroad. Practically, it means preservation and handing down to the young generation in the process of education one's own cultural heritage which bears the Christian character.