If "many believers complain that they themselves do not feel understood, in the words and tones of Christian preaching, —according to Msgr. Paglia—this perception of remoteness should be seriously analyzed, with the intelligence and the affection of the good shepherd, capable of listening and understanding, as well as making himself heard, and following the indications of the Gospel. We need to find words and actions that bring the truth of the Gospel into the human condition of this time. Words and actions that meet today's lifestyles and experience, in which the men and women of our time are obliged to make their own choices, in the domain of the affections, ties, the family."

The urgency is therefore "objective, not ideological: in comparison to bygone times, what is new is that the family is no longer a given fact. The world's culture does not favor it. At the same time, obviously, the structure of the family condition is coming to be seen as the crucial hub for the future structure of human society itself." Precisely in this perspective—Msgr. Paglia continues—"the new vocation and mission of the family is at stake, today both in the Church and in the world. Like faith, the sacrament cannot be imposed. The divine commandment of love is, in fact, something else: it is the authorization of a risk that no one would feel up to taking on, if he only counted on his own strength. The grace of the sacrament is not an ornamental blessing; it is an effective force. The man and the woman who prepare themselves to face the challenge of a lasting marital and family covenant therefore truly worthy of being admired and honored. The Church itself, as indeed the entire civil community, should render much more, for what they receive daily, always."