Referendum for Clarifying the Constitutional Definition of Marriage in 2018. The Causes of a Surprising Failure. Catechetical Interrogations

Referendum for Clarifying the Constitutional Definition of Marriage in 2018. The Causes of a Surprising Failure. Catechetical Interrogations

11 October 2022

One of the most important citizens’ initiative in the last 100 years is analyzed and interpreted publicly as a "failure", aiming directly and exclusively at the very existence of the Church, while inserting criticisms of the alleged violation of human rights and freedoms. People tend to be more and more attracted by the political correctness and thus they are forgetting about the Christian values where the family plays and important role. The attitude towards the family of the Romanian society today could be identified clearly during the moments that were preceding the referendum for the family from October 6-7, 2018, as well as in its aftermath. The failure of this referendum also needs to be analysed in connection with the catechetical activity of the Church and its effectiness. The dialogue is probably the only effective way of communication through which the theme of the family can be brought back from the periphery of the various manipulated facts to the center of the real and useful debates of today's society. The purpose of this study is to highlight the premises on which this initiative was based, as well as the causes that led to its failure, all studied in the light of sociological, psychological, legal and theological analyzes.