ons. On the threshold of the third millennium, the pastoral care of life, that is received and transmitted generously in the family, stands out as a priority need for the Jubilee Year: "Each family, in some way, should be involved in the preparation for the Great Jubilee. Was it not through a family, the family of Nazareth, that the Son of God chose to enter into human history?".67
76. The various rights of individuals and communities mutually reinforce a culture of freedom in which human beings can contribute to the common good. In fact, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms in many ways that human beings are perfected through individual initiative, private associations and political engagement for the sake of the common good. The Declaration, for example, recognizes the right to intellectual property,68 whereby the invention, distribution and use of knowledge are not merely or solely achievements of the State. As John Paul II observed, "man's principal resource is man himself".69 The Universal Declaration wisely recognizes that an essential part of the freedom of association 70—which includes freedom to associate in labor unions 71—is the right whereby individuals cannot be compelled by the State to join an association.72 All these rights, which individuals and private associations enjoy, are vital for the development of "civil society". They constitute a safeguard against totalitarianism.
77. The practical recognition of the rights of the institution of the family in the framework of the development of human rights cannot ignore the original words, the end and the spirit of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration recognizes in the natural institution of marriage a mutual self-giving in love between a man and a woman—which constitutes a stable union open to the procreation and education of their offspring—as the principal foundation of the family. We call upon all peoples and nations to give careful attention to the norms of the Universal Declaration and not to curtail their beneficial and salutary protection.
78. "The future of humanity passes through the family".73 For this reason, it is in the treatment that peoples give to the family through recognition of its fundamental, irreplaceable value or, on the contrary, through the various forms of neglect, hostility and harassment that hinder its mission, that the future of humanity will pass.
(1) We offer the rich contribution of commissions that worked on various topics. Due to the working method, there may be some repetitions which nonetheless enrich the reflections. Some experts from the Acton Institute also cooperated in this endeavor.
(2) The Pontifical Council had the opportunity to commemorate this event in advance when it held the Second Meeting of European Politicians and Lawmakers from October 22-24, 1998 on the theme: "Human Rights and the Rights of the Family". The conclusions of this meetings were published in L'Osservatore Romano (November 18, 1998, p. 7). The text containing the speeches delivered on that occasion have already been published in Italian (Pontifical Council for the Family, Diritti dell'uomo: Famiglia e Politica, LEV 1999), and the Spanish and French editions are being prepared. We are also planning to hold the Third Meeting of Politicians and Lawmakers of America in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from August 3-5, 1999 on the theme: "Family and Life 50 Years After the Universal Declaration of Human Rights".
(3) Cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris, 11463, 144.
(4) John Paul II, Message for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace 1999, 81298, 3.
(5) Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Preamble.
(6) Cf. Charter of the United Nations, Introduction.
(7) Even when the number of signers was relatively small.
(8) John Paul II, Message to H.E. Mr. Didier Opertti Badán, President of the 53rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly, 301198.
(10) Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Veritatis Splendor, 6893, 99.
(11) Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Fides et Ratio, 29998, Foreword; 102.
(12) Cf. 