In his book "The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World", Pope John Paul II has a great vision of true community. He wrote, "Young married couples should learn to accept willingly, and make good use of, the discreet, tactful and generous help offered by other couples that already have more experience of married and family life. Thus within the ecclesial community- the great family made up of Christian families - there will take place a mutual exchange of presence and help among all the families, each one putting at the service of others its own experience of life, as well as gifts of faith and grace. Animated by a true apostolic spirit, this assistance from family to family will constitute one of the simplest, most effective and most accessible means of transmitting from one to another those Christian values which are both starting point and the goal of all pastoral care."

File updated on 11 Nov 07