“No European family must feel let down by the institutions, at a time in which fear and bewilderment seem to prevail. Therefore, the key, essential role played by families in Europe, which are also the original social core of our communities, should be acknowledged. Hopefully, such acknowledgement should be reasserted first and foremost by the national and European institutions”. This was stated by Fafce, the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe, in a message just sent from their Brussels premises and signed by its president, Vincenzo Bassi, and by the presidents of about twenty associations based in other European countries. “At such a difficult time as the one we are experiencing, our organisations – the message goes on – promote solidarity among the member states of the European Union and rely on the role played by the European institutions in financial coordination, making sure the initiatives that will be taken in support of the families may be effective. In particular, for all of Europe, the time has come to show that we adhere to the fundamental values that we share: solidarity, subsidiarity and the common good”.