CSDC 213

The family, the natural community in which human social nature is experienced, makes a unique and irreplaceable contribution to the good of society. The family unit, in fact, is born from the communion of persons. “‘Communion' has to do with the personal relationship between the ‘I' and the ‘thou'. ‘Community' on the other hand transcends this framework and moves towards a ‘society', a ‘we'. The family, as a community of persons, is thus the first human ‘society'“⁴⁶⁸ John Paul II, Letter to Families Gratissimam Sane, 7: AAS 86AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 86 (1994) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1994), 875; cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2206.. A society built on a family scale is the best guarantee against drifting off course into individualism or collectivism, because within the family the person is always at the centre of attention as an end and never as a means. It is patently clear that the good of persons and the proper functioning of society are closely connected “with the healthy state of conjugal and family life”⁴⁶⁹ Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 47: AAS 58AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 58 (1966) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1966), 1067; cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2210.. Without families that are strong in their communion and stable in their commitment peoples grow weak. In the family, moral values are taught starting from the very first years of life, the spiritual heritage of the religious community and the cultural legacy of the nation are transmitted. In the family one learns social responsibility and solidarity⁴⁷⁰ Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2224..