Ed. Note: Address given by Cheatham E. Hodges, Jr. to the delegates on the White House Conference on Family Jan. 28, 1980 in Gainesville, Ga.

I am Cheatham E. Hodges, Jr. Executive Director of the Georgia Catholic Conference.

I address you today to express the concerns of the Georgia Catholic Conference for the debilitating influences in Georgia and the United States, on the integrity and quality of the family.

It is impossible to cover all areas of concern, so in a general way it is hoped that this presentation will encourage and develop sincere thought regarding family life.

Pope John Paul II in a recent address stated “The great danger for family life, in the midst of any society whose ideals are pleasure, comfort and independence, lies in the fact that people close their hearts and become selfish. The fear of making permanent commitments can change the mutual love of husband and wife into two loves of self – two loves existing side by side, until they end in separation …” We must never forget the words of wisdom imputed to us through which Pope John Paul admonishes us – “Human life is precious because it is the gift of God, whose love is infinite, and when God gives life it is forever …” and accordingly, “When the value of the family is threatened because of social and economic pleasures, we will stand up to reaffirm that the family is necessary not only for the private good of very person, but also for the common good of very society, nation and state.”

The fiber of our nation is only as strong as the unity of each individual family. This quality of life as it exists is shared in that family, regardless of size or material wealth, in a character of consternation which is endowed with undeniable assets of love and truth. When we deny family quality the honorable character of these assets, we refute the very essence which has bound our nation through the years of its existence and weaken the bonds which bind the many into one.

We must then be aware of the necessity of the family as a unit possessing integrity and credibility – a unit capable of asserting an impact in public policy requiring an assurance of fundamental rights as the essential part of national unity which guarantees the basic necessities of life.

What is the family impact in public affairs? Is it weighted influence expressed by a capable assertive fear? Is it a far away murmur of an unnoticed and uncommitted segment – be they unknowing – unwanted – unheard from – all of whom comprise the total family impact. Yet, the need is among the whole – so the whole must be heard and answered, and the answer can only be addressed to strengthening each fiber of the thread from which the fabric of family life is woven. Health care, joblessness, self-assertiveness, hunger, acceptance and sharing must be spoken to and attended to.

There are the unknown, the unwanted and unaccepted at every level of family life throughout Georgia and the United States. The aged and infirm, the malformed and subdued, the unnoticed and rejected are all in and of the family unit. Yet our attention through laws and financial aid is so often diverted from their direction.

The impact of these families is so often ignored without the acknowledgment of the political and societal responsibilities inherent in our system of government and personal obligations which demand alleviating these deficiencies. It must be realized through the White House Conference on Families there can never be a resignation to discrepancies of administration in our system, be they governmental or personal – there must be a full and constant devotion to correcting these inadequacies and facing them square on.

We could recite instances innumerable of such inadequacies – lack of health care, inattentiveness to Hispanic and East Asian residents, the inner city and rural poor, inconsistencies of job gaps with unemployment, inner city deterioration, lawlessness, energy waste, rural flight, inordinate governmental influence, inadequate housing, wife and husband abuse, child abuse, hunger, inadequate and deficient education – a list which could go on without apparent end.

President Carter on October 15, 1979 at Kansas City, speaking on the forthcoming report of the White House Conference on Families stated “… Because the need of families is so deeply ingrained in our consciousness and within the lives and hearts of others around the country, this (conference) report cannot be forgotten.”

We are faced with a serious consequence of attacks on families from all walks of life. The safety and survival of the family is seriously threatened. Attacks occur when people as a nation fail to realize they have the obligation of respecting other people. Society succeeds in promoting the common welfare of its members only to the extent that family life of its members is ruled by justice, order and peace.

Stated in a United States Catholic Conference publication “The test of how we value the family is whether we are willing to foster, in government and business, in urban planning and farm policy, in education and health care, in the arts and sciences, in our social and cultural environment, moral values which nourish the primary relationships of husbands, wives and children and make authentic family life possible … Comprehensive decisions on a national or regional scope must take into account their impact on family life.” As President Carter states (the Office for Families) “… is to provide a focal point for the development of policies and programs affecting families. It will be deeply involved in implementing the White House Conference on Families recommendations affecting families.”

We must be mindful of all families remembering, “Their strength is our strength and as recently stated by Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan of Atlanta “… indignity, injustice and inhumanity at anytime, in anyplace, toward any man or woman or child should arouse in us a deep and burning concern.”

The family is an expression of that concern for it should always be remembered that the family is born out of love for life and life is also precious because it is the expression and the first of love.”