The Educative Pastoral Community and Family

By Fr. Louis Molinelli, SDB, Province Delegate for Youth Ministry

Last week, I reflected with you on the Educative Pastoral Community (EPC) as a home that welcomes the young with their collaborators into an environment of communion as the Church.  I would like to extend that reflection this week to another group which plays a significant role in the education and evangelization of the young—the family. The Salesian Youth Ministry Frame of Reference tells us that the family “… is the primary and indispensable educational community” (p.  119). Even in spite of the challenges families face today, our young need their families and expect their families to give them the affection they need. In his apostolic exhortation Familiaris Consortio, St. John Paul II tells us that the role of the family is irreplaceable and inalienable. Additionally, the role of the family cannot be delegated or substituted (FS 36).

Our Salesian role as the EPC and the groups that are formed within it is to do the following:

• To make parents aware of their educational responsibility in the face of new and emerging patterns of education;
• To accompany young couples and actively involving them in the EPC;
• To collaborate with all members of the EPC to discern, identify, and respond to the most urgent needs of our families; and
• To involve all of our families in the creation and implementation of the Educative Pastoral Plan (SEPP).

As we SDBs prepare for our Provincial Chapter in July 2022, we are taking this call to involve all groups of our EPCs in this discernment, including our families, seriously. Think about your Salesian ministry and the role that families play in the creation of and carrying out of the SEPP. Let us continue to celebrate the Year of the Family and collaborate with all our families for the good of the young entrusted to all of our care.