Moreover, in Christian marriage the spouses are by a special sacrament strengthened and, as it were, consecrated for the duties and the dignity of their state. Parents have the most serious duty and the primary right to do all in their power to see to the physical, social, cultural, moral, and religious upbringing of their children. From The Catechism of The Catholic Church 1653. The role of parents in education is of such importance that it is almost impossible to provide an adequate substitute. Parents must regard their children as children of God and respect them as human persons.
Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children .
They bear witness to this responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgiveness, respect, fidelity and disinterested service are the rule. The home is the natural environment for initiating a human being into solidarity and communal responsibilities. Parents should teach children to avoid the compromising and degrading influences which threaten human societies. By the grace of the sacrament of marriage, parents receive the responsibility and the privilege of evangelizing their children. Family catechesis precedes, accompanies, and enriches other forms of instruction in the faith.