This week the NACCC CEO (Elizabeth Coe) went to the launch of the report Archbishops’ Commission on Families and Households “Love Matters”, to which NACCC made a contribution.
Established in March 2021 by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Families & Households Commission was asked to explore what families and households of all shapes and sizes need in order to flourish. The report lays out a number of recommendations to the Church of England and the Government about how this can be achieved.
‘Love Matters’, the new report from the Archbishops’ Families and Households Commission makes a series of recommendations about how families and households can best flourish.
The report draws on a rich body of primary data collected through an extensive Call for Evidence, visits to communities up and down the country, events, round table discussions, and surveys, meetings with interfaith leaders, listening and learning from children and young people, hearing from parents and teachers, as well as contemporary literature, the Commission outlines five ambitions to support and strengthen family life.
“With wisdom and timeliness, ‘Love Matters’ encourages us to prioritise the hopes, needs and aspirations of families – in all their diversity. We must do so as institutions and as individuals. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to share the overflowing love of God, who calls us into relationship with Himself and one another. As this report demonstrates, there is much to celebrate but there is a great deal still to do if we are to ensure the flourishing of every family and household.”
The Most Reverend Justin Welby
In this video Justin Welby talks through some of the foundations for the Commission and the motivation behind its work.
The report concludes that we must . . . . . .
- Value families in all their diversity, meeting their basic needs by putting their well-being at the heart of Government policy-making and our community life, including religious communities.
- Support relationships throughout life, ensuring that everyone is able to develop and maintain loving and caring relationships, manage conflict well, and promote the flourishing of individuals and families.
- Honour singleness and single-person households, recognising that loving relationships matter to everyone.
- Empower children and young people, developing their relational skills and knowledge, recognising their value and agency, protecting them from harm, and giving them the best start in life.
- Build a kinder, fairer, more forgiving society, removing discrimination, division, and deep inequality for the sake of every family and household.
The commission that worked alongside Justin Welby, included a number of esteemed professionals including Dr Carole Kaplan, who is a retired Child Psychiatrist and who has also (previously been) a trustee of NACCC for many years.
