Latin American Family

The importance of family as the basic unit of society teaches one the benefits of forming and/or developing collective values and beliefs that allow the Christian Church to better evangelize and expand. Since the second conference in Medellin during 1955, the Latin American bishops stated their awareness in the lack of Christian ministry to families. First and foremost, the bishops identified the various difficulties Latin American families could endure—such as poverty, divorce, low marriage rates, abortion, etc. Aside from the idea that these issues afflicted families differently, the Church was also aware that not one family is the same and that they therefore must be accepting of all kinds of families and their dynamics.
In general, the
The bishops’ proposed solutions to familial issues were clever, in my opinion, as they focused with those in most need. By wanting to fortify families, they were indirectly fortifying society and its potential to change, as well as fortifying the presence of the Church in world. This idea has resonated with me due to the contradicting, individualistic quality that is greatly emphasized in the American culture. In fact, it is a reminder of my struggle in finding a balance between my Mexican heritage and the American culture I was raised in. Being Mexican-American, I was instilled with the notion of family as my priority. In fact, my immediate family was not the basic unit; rather, when I was a little girl, I considered my extended family (uncles, aunts, cousins, etc.) as the “smallest” family unit because it was what I was raised to believe. Therefore, I had a preconceived image of what a family looked like and the importance of family in my life; this ultimately changed when my parents got
Socially, divorced families tend to be completely isolated and alienated by their extended family members. Thus, to avoid such stigma, it is more likely for these families to separate than to go through a divorce. This only gives a slight indication as to how negative divorce is viewed in the Mexican culture, as well as in other Latino cultures. But because I am slightly in-between both cultures, I did not know what to expect and how to react to my parents filing for divorce. The opposing beliefs led me to great confusion and was a struggle in regards to finding a balance between the values and beliefs of my Mexican heritage and the American culture. In general, my idea of family changed; my immediate family and I experienced alienation from my extended family and we were not welcomed after my parents went through the divorce. This ultimately led to developing deep deceit and sadness because I believed my “small” family would always be there to support my immediate family and I. Eventually, this caused a change in how I valued family and completely tainted the importance I had for family into an individualistic emphasis on my well-being and development. Although this happened three years ago, I have slowly been warming up to the idea of family as being one of my