Interview with the executive President of WMF Foundation (07-10-2005)

Valencia - Monsignor Esteban Escudero, assistant Bishop of Valencia, is the Executive President of the "Fundación de la Comunidad Valenciana V EMF". He answers in this interview some questions about WMF and the family.

¿What is the WMF and why does it exist?

The WMF is a meeting of families from all over the world that is held to stress and live together the Christian values of marriage and family. A get-together of families to live and discuss the Christian view of family and life.

It is an event convoked by the Pope, a task given by the Vatican to the dioceses of Valencia. Does that show a great confidence of the universal Church in Valencia?

They trust us because Valencia has got a long tradition of theological and pastoral study and thoughts about family. It is because of that the Archbishop, monsignor Agustín García Gasco, asked for and obtained for Valencia an extension of the Pontifical Institute John Paul II, We are responsible, together with the Pontifical Council for the family, for the organization of all events that are included in WMF.

Many people are calling here, offering their co-operation as volunteers, because their children can speak other languages... even hotels and companies of all kinds want to help us with it. Who is really behind WMF?

There is this "Fundación Comunidad Valenciana V Encuentro Mundial de la Familia", headed by the Archbishop and the President of the Generalitat, the Town Mayoress and the President of the Regional Parliament. They are the ones who decide and run the event.

Then there is an executive President, who is speaking to you now, who has the job of co-ordinating the work of the different committees. There are two delegates, Rev. Corbí and Mr. Pérez in charge of institutional relations and other areas, and a Secretary, Mrs. Molinero.

Of course, there is also a head for each area's committee. Mgr. Benavent is responsible for the Congress, Mr. Borrás for lodging and Mgr.Giménez for pastoral promotion. Since last month, Mr. Arnal is in charge of communication and Mr. Selva for logistics and infrastructures. This last one also includes volunteering (Mr. Cervera), Architecture (Mr. Mas), Security, Police, Fire brigades, Civil protection and medical care (Mr. Domínguez), Liturgy (Rev. Sancho) and so on.

Of course, there are also many more people working to make this event possible in all fields.

We already know that WMF will happen between the 1st and the 9th of July, but ¿what is the program for it? We have heard about the Congress, Masses, festivals, even a Family fair opened to everyone who wants to participate with games for kids and activities for teenagers and also young couples. ¿Can you explain more about those activities and when they will take place?

Details will be known very soon, but I can give you some ideas about what we are studying and trying to settle down.

There will be a Congress for the elderly on the 3rd and 4th, focused on grandparents and their role and how it influences the whole family. Above all, we want to emphasize their frequent task to replace parents who have to work outside home. We want to discuss about the role of them in a modern family.

Then we will have the Theological and Pastoral Congress, from the 4th to the 7th. It will be opened to all who want to participate, not only experts, and we expect deep studies about different topics related to family as the place where faith is first spread, and also some relevant aspects of family life nowadays.

Cultural and religious activities will also take place in the evenings, such as concerts, music festivals from all over the world including, of course, Valencia, and so on.

Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th will be the central celebrations. The main events of WMF will take place during that weekend. Eucharistic celebrations in different languages for different countries will take place in different churches along the city. In the evening, we will have the Festive and Testimonial Meeting, in which there will be artistic plays together with testimonies that different families will offer to the world. This will be broadcasted worldwide and will show how they and their families have lived their faith in very different and sometimes extremely difficult situations.

WMF will conclude with the Mass of Sunday 9th, around Europe Square and France Avenue, which we expect to be presided by his Holiness Benedict XVI.

How will all this preparations affect the external aspect of the city and the inner life of parishes and schools?

As you say, there are two aspects. Outside and inside. Posters will be seen around parishes and also those huge pictures of the pope that show how much we want him to come. That motto, 'we are waiting for you', expresses both a wish and nearly a need - we want him here with us. Then there will be also many other printed and audiovisual resources.

In that sense, everything we could use to make everyone know about the event will be useful.

But much more important for us in the inner preparation in parishes. During these days, one of the auxiliary Bishops, Mgr. Gimenez, is visiting each one of the five vicarages and talking to every priest in charge of a parish to help them in developing their own preparations.

Basically, the pastoral plan for preparations consists of ten chatechesis that will be developed in parishes, and everyone will organize a whole week devoted to family, during which the main topics related to family life, especially those who have to do with the transmission of faith, will be treated.

In short, to make them see how necessary it is to provide a full education of their children, mainly in religious matters.

Valencia is going to be the center of many things then. How can families from here help? Lodging pilgrims? Volunteering? What can we do for WMF?

In family and personal life, they should try to live Christian family values in full. What we aim is not just a multitudinous show, but to make it possible for many families to realize how wonderful a family can be when it is founded in matrimony, in indissoluble love, in an open attitude towards life and children, in a complete education of them. We expect families to live more intensely and realize what their commitment and Christian life really means.

This said, they can also help in the organization, of course. Opening their homes to other families for 2 or 3 days is certainly a beautiful way to do it, as well as offering themselves as volunteers... couples, elderly, even children, they are all welcome. We will need many people to make logistics work: nurses, doctors, journalists, those who help other to find their way in the city and, during the events, those who help with security and medical attention. You can see there are many jobs that need hands to accomplish them.

We ask for them to be done freely, as a personal choice, because only then a meeting of this kind can make sense. We hope they open their hearts with generosity to contribute to the success of WMF.

What we usually find at mass media about family is mostly sad, like violence at home... You are also Director of the Institute of Religious Sciences and visit the different locations and meet students there. What is happening with marriage in Spain? Why should 99% of the news about family be negative ones?

Well, news are usually about extreme and infrequent situations. We hear about that extreme violence when it happens, but we don't hear of all families that live with harmony and peace.

Unfortunately, negative actions are spread much more than positive ones. We cannot deny there is a great crisis in family life, though. We all know people around us whose marriage has failed or it is near to it. There is that crisis that mass media tend to overstate, focusing on those situations and seeing them as something progressive, as if not keeping a family were a social conquer, as if it should be only a part-time occupation, something to be finished after physical attraction is over. A tremendous harm that is done to children then.

But that is not average. There are couples (as those you have been publishing in your magazine) that show us how many of them are faithful, live their family way in an unbreakable way. They show us what real love is, but they are seldom on newspapers or television.

One of the tasks of the Congress of Families will be, therefore, to focus those couples that live Christian and family values without being noticed. Stressing those families who live a simple, quiet, peaceful and friendly mutual love is one of the most important missions of WMF.

It sounds as if this meeting had building a new culture to defend family values as a goal...

We aim for a twofold success of WMF - before and after the event. Before, because we would like everyone to think deeply about what family and matrimony is in our lives, at least in vast sectors of our people, at least in those who share our faith.

But we also hope that people who are far from the Church can see what we offer as the legacy of the word of God. We would like that once WMF is over, there would be an actual family pastoral activity in each parish. Groups of couples living that spiritual life. That somehow parishes become closer to those in need. That this meeting influences the whole pastoral activity with families.

Have you found enough support in local and regional authorities for your task, it being such an important event?

Up to now, the attitude towards EMF of local and regional authorities, as well as the Army in providing all their logistic means, and even the Government, has been positive. The Government and the King of Spain have transmitted to the Pope Benedict XVI their invitation to come. And they have also offered their full support for security matters.

So there is acceptance and co-operation. And same if we mention the local ones. Both President Camps and Mayoress Barbera have always offered their unconditional help, and same the President of the regional Parliament, Mr. Giner. We have always found in all of them a warm welcome and their best attitude. WMF has interested all of them and they will co-operate in every way for its success.

We have heard that "Golden couples" (those who got married 50 years ago) will renew their marriage promises during the Mass with the Pope, and that many activities will be organized for kids and teenagers, also for young couples... A special meeting for fiancées has also been mentioned. Do you really want to reach all ages?

Family is a wide institution. It is not just parents and children, there is also the grandparents. Around the Congress, we also want to celebrate some acts for the young people: talks targeted specifically to their problems.

Kids will also be part of the event, and we want a special place for them, so that they can participate in their way. We exclude no-one. Grandparents, parents, children and even babies will have their place. And, as I said, also fiancées will have something for them.

We know the topic for WMF is the transmission of faith in the family, but some people prefer to see the parish or school as the right place for that task. Is family really so important in transmitting the faith?

All of us who are Christians remember those prayers our mother taught