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L'amore sponsale e alcuni percorsi in vista del suo raggiungimento

Summary: The Year of the Family, organised by the United Nations in 1994, offered an opportunity for John Paul II to draw up a Letter to families summarising his teaching on this issue. In regard to the actual social context of the industrialised societies the paper points out the fall in the birth rate, the de-facto-unions, and the ethical challenges raised by in-vitro-fertilisation. The identity of the family, approached from a theological point of view, finds its deepest roots in the similarity between the union of the divine Persons and that among human beings. When the spouses mutually bestow and accept each other a new relationship arises that embodies conjugal and parental natures. Pastoral theology introduces the mystagogical accompaniment into marriage preparation that invites engaged people to read their own history of love in the light of the history of salvation and of God.s unconditional love they receive.