One of the many legacies of Pope John Paul II is his apostolic exhortation Familiaris Consortio (The Community of the Family), issued on November 21, 1981. It is considered as one of his favourites in a pontificate replete with teaching documents.

Familiaris Consortio links the contemporary problems and promise of family life to what had already emerged as a key theme in his long pontificate - the true meaning of freedom. As George Weigel writes in Witness to Hope: "The positive 'signs of the times' - a greater sensitivity to personal freedom in entering marriage; the high value contemporary culture places or interpersonal relationships; efforts to promote the dignity of women; a worldwide stress on the importance of education - are expressions of the modern quest for a freedom worthy of human beings".

This apostolic exhortation strengthens further the Church's teaching on the concept of marriage and the family. Marriage can never be a mere contract, nor can the family be simply a utilitarian convenience for its members. Regrettably, many nowadays talk and write about the role of husband and wife, but very few speak about the noble vocation as married couples and as parents. Vocation is superior to their important role. Since human beings are made "through love" and "for love" and because love is "the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being", this vocation is the heart of marriage and the heart of the family.

As Pope John Paul II explained in this apostolic exhortation, in its mission to "guard, reveal and communicate love", a mission that is a "real sharing in God's love for humanity and the love of Christ the Lord for the Church", the Christian family is a "domestic church" - one specific graced way to live the communio characteristic of the followers of Christ.

In light of this communio, John Paul II vigorously defended "the equal dignity and responsibility of women with men," while arguing that "the true advancement of women requires the clear recognition be given to the value of their maternal and family role, by comparison with all other public roles with all other professions". Men, for their part, are called to live their fatherhood as an icon of "the very fatherhood of God"