The growing ecological awareness invites us to broaden the horizons of the four principles of Catholic Social Teaching (CST): human dignity, solidarity, subsidiarity, and the common good[1]. The first principle affirms that the human being is an image of God (“imago Dei”) and has a very special dignity which, however, does not imply separation, but rather collaboration and service. Being capable for God (“capax Dei”) and, at the same time, brother of all creatures, the human being must serve them in the logic of gift, thus imitating the kenosis of Christ. Therefore, the awareness of his human dignity must not separate him from the rest of creation, but rather reinforce his responsibility towards all creatures. We are all brothers and sisters of the same heavenly God and part of a single project of love. On the other hand, the respect for creation does not mean that it is static and untouchable, as some neo-pagan or pantheistic movements claim, sacralizing it as “an untouchable taboo” (CV 48). In the name of an idea inspired by egocentrism and biocentrism it is being proposed that the ontological and axiological difference between men and other living beings be eliminated, since the biosphere is considered…

The sacraments are perceptible signs (words and actions) “of the hidden reality of salvation” (CCC 774) that use elements of material nature to make visible the invisible, realizing “effectively the grace they signify” (CCC 1084). In them, “nature is taken up by God to become a means of mediating supernatural life” (LS 235). They also show the eschatological dimension of creation, because “all the good which exists here will be taken up into the heavenly feast”[1]. Symbolic actions, such as the imposition of ashes at the beginning of the Lenten season, fully show the bond that exists between our sins and the cry of the earth. One of the expressions indicated for this Rite says: “Remember that you are dust and dust you will return” (Gn 3:19). In addition to reminding us that we too are dust of the earth, an integral part of nature, that ash can express also the cry of the earth, burned and reduced to dust by consumerism and human selfishness. The celebration of reconciliation will be even more significant if signs and symbols of this type are properly used. In fact, some Protestant churches have already begun to use them in this sense[2]. The sacrament…

En un artículo anterior hemos analizado la experiencia en familia de la peregrinación a Santiago de Compostela como un rito con el que la familia construye la estructura simbólica que le da cohesión y horizonte de sentido. Veamos ahora otro ejemplo de rito familiar: la comida en común[i]. 1. Un nuevo contexto sociocultural La comida es un momento importante en la vida de la familia, pues permite a sus miembros celebrar lo que les une, compartir experiencias significativas y construir juntos una narrativa común. Ya en la Grecia del período clásico se consideraba la comida en común como un aspecto definitorio de la familia. No obstante, antes del siglo XIX, las familias norteamericanas no consideraban la comida como un evento especial, tal vez porque sus miembros solían estar siempre juntos y no sentían esa necesidad. Cada uno comía algo cuando le apetecía[ii]. Incluso cuando se preparaba la comida para todos a la misma hora, los varones solían comer separados de sus mujeres e hijos. En la segunda mitad del siglo XIX, sin embargo, se sentía ya la necesidad de comer juntos y de atribuirle a la comida un significado ritual. Seguramente en esto influyó el nuevo contexto social, urbanizado e…

Las nuevas tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC) están teniendo un influjo significativo en la vida familiar y en sus ritos. El modelo social de la familia ha evolucionado, pero los ritos siguen formando parte de su dinamismo interno. Gracias a ellos, los miembros de la familia construyen la estructura simbólica que les da cohesión y horizonte de sentido. 1. La familia y sus ritos La obra de E. Durkeim puso de relieve la función social de los ritos (Durkheim 2014). A. Etzioni resaltó también su importancia, llegando a afirmar que «somos lo que celebramos» (Etzioni 2004). Son muchas las definiciones que se han dado de ellos. Pisco Costa da este nombre a cualquier práctica, asumida en la interacción familiar, «que tenga un propósito específico y un significado simbólico o especial» (Pisco Costa 2013, 272). Los ritos familiares incluyen costumbres, ceremonias y tradiciones que tienen carga simbólica o significativa para la familia que las realiza. Las fiestas y celebraciones familiares son un marco propicio para los ritos. En la actualidad, muchos de estos ritos carecen de connotaciones religiosas explícitas. A pesar del frenético ritmo de vida actual, los ritos familiares siguen siendo numerosos, a veces condicionados e impulsados…

The concept of fraternity is complex and can be used at various levels (interpersonal, ecclesial, universal, cosmic) and with different meanings[1]. This term, with its variations (brotherhood, sisterhood, fraternity), was commonly used in the Middle Ages to refer to religious groups that were devoted to pious and charitable activities. Some associations of craftsmen and other professionals were also called “confraternities”. Today it is still used to refer, for example, to student associations and other religious or masonic groups. In the Catholic church it is usually applied to an entire religious Order[2] and to each of its provinces or local communities. The French revolution coined the motto: “Liberty, equality, fraternity”. Fraternity is thus associated to our common nature, to equality of rights and to an apparent universalism, but it does not overcome the dynamics of separation and tribal confrontation. The post-revolutionary order soon abandoned this term, “up to the point of its deletion from the political-economic lexicon”[3]. The French revolution conceives brotherhood “as coming from this world, from the similar heredity and nature of all”. Nevertheless, it “differentiated drastically and bloodily between the inner fraternal circle of the revolutionaries and the outer circle of the nonrevolutionaries”[4]. On the other hand, Marxism…