This message recognizes that family circumstances have become more complex and diverse. Although most couples decide at some point to get married and have children, it is a fact that these marriages happen later, are more fragile and are more at risk of breakdown. Increasingly, children are living with a single parent or with step-parents. In 2001, out of 1.07 million Canadian children, 19% of children did not live with both parents. A majority of children lived with one parent only, most often their mother.

The message launches a call for the solidarity and compassion of all families with those that face difficulties in life. “Through the example of Jesus Christ, who took upon himself our loneliness and reclothed it with his presence, our families are called to remain near to, compassionate toward and in solidarity with families that are struggling in some way,” the document says.