"It is so important when we live in a world where family comes under attack from many different sources and many different ideologies, that we explain what we believe as Catholics, as Christians, in married life," Cardinal Farrell said, explaining that many times the Church fails to teach what marriage is about.
"We fail to do that many times in the Church in our programs of preparation for married life, we fail to do that in continuing to help young couples after they've been married," he said, stressing the need to accompany couples in the path of marriage, which is dealt with in Chapters 1-7 of Amoris Laetitia.
Similarly, Archbishop Martin told CNA that while the family "is under attack from ideologies" pushed by modern secular society, if they were to ask families how they are being "attacked," the answers would overwhelmingly center on the day-to-day struggles of how to make ends meet and troubles they might be facing in raising their children.
"These are the challenges that parents need to be supported in so they can carry out their essential role in society and that people really give them the support and confidence to do that," he said, explaining that Chapter 4 of Amoris Laetitia will likely be a key focal point for the event's catechesis.
So while the ideologies are certainly present, "it's the day-to-day realities that parents have to face with their children (and) this is where the Church has to be accompanying, not just accompanying them in problems."
Speaking to journalists, Cardinal Farrell stressed the importance of the role of the laity and local parishes in preparing for the World Meeting of Families, specifically when it comes to reaching out to those who might have abandoned the Church or no longer attend for a variety of reasons.
"We need to be a Church that goes out to the peripheries of society, to those people who don't listen to us at the present moment, to those families many times that have lost their way or don't go to church anymore," he said.
The catechesis done by individual dioceses in the lead-up to the international gathering will be especially important, he said, adding that "it's imperative" that this preparation take place in parishes since they are the ones who can better reach families that are far off.
"It's very important that this take place. It's not just a gathering of three days, this is an effort of the whole Church," he said, noting that media also play a crucial role.
Laity must also embrace this task, he said, noting that the Church is currently celebrating 50 years since the the Second Vatican Council and 30 years since the publication of St. John Paul II's 1988 apostolic exhortation "Christifideles laici" on the vocation of laity.
Both of these "spoke to the mission of lay people and the co-responsibility of laity in the Church," the cardinal said. "Its not just a question of a few priests or a few sisters or a few people engaged in the pastoral life of (their parish), but we need to reach out, we are the communicators."
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And it's married couples themselves who, in their different parishes and communities, "should be the ones who are responsible for communicating this love that we would hope to re-instill in the lives of so many people, that they would go and communicate it to other couples."
Elise Harris was senior Rome correspondent for CNA from 2012 to 2018.