Proclaiming the Family: Which Family? The document ‘The Family: A Proclamation To The World’ declares that ‘the family is ordained of God.’ Are we to assume that means all families, or just some families of a particular type? When the Proclamation warns of the ‘disintegration’ of family, what exactly does that mean? And what do ‘responsive citizens and governments’ do ‘to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society?’ What are we hearing from Church leaders to answer those questions and fill in the gaps? In this session, I present my take on those questions and suggest that we in the Church may be seduced by our own rhetoric about family.

H. Parker Blount, J. Frederick (Toby) Pingree