The Fifth General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops met in Rome from 26 September to 25 October 1980. 148 bishops and 68 other delegates from across the globe, came together to discuss the Mission of the Christian Family in the Modern World. It was the first international meeting of John Paul II’s papacy and the world was poised to see what the Bishop from Poland would be like.

On 22 November 1981 Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio was published.  It was more than a year after 200 delegates had gathered in Rome to discuss The Mission of the Christian Family in the Modern World.  Familiaris Consortio was the fruit of an intense month of reflection by the world’s bishops and the Holy Father’s response to their 43 resulting propositions.

22 November 2011 marks the 30^th anniversary of the publication of Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio.  To date it remains the only report of this scale to be issued by the Holy See on the Church and its relationship to the family in the modern world. 

On 16 December 1978, Pope John Paul II agreed on ‘The Role of the Christian Family’ as the theme for the next World Synod of Bishops in 1980. In May 1979 the preparatory document or Lineamenta was published and responses were invited by 1 December 1979. 

The comprehensive nature of Familiaris Consortio appears to some extent to have worked against its reception. It is generally agreed that its length was and remains off putting. Nevertheless, the document gave a lot of support to those already working in the area of pastoral care of marriage and family life, providing a framework within which to articulate the aims, objectives and challenges of family ministry.

The impact of Familiaris Consortio is perhaps more easily traced from a historical perspective. It had a clear impact on the Papacy of Blessed Pope John Paul II. A review of the documents published under his Pontificate illustrates that his concern for marriage and family never wavered and that he followed his own recommendation by incorporating a family perspective throughout his writings.

Thirty years ago, on 22 November 1981, Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Exhortation on the Christian Family in the Modern World, Familiaris Consortio, was published. To mark this anniversary, the Marriage and Family Life Project Office at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has prepared a multimedia archive. 

In this interview, we speak to "Sarah", a victim of domestic abuse. She describes the escalation of her partner's violence towards her and the steps she took to escape and resume a safer life.