much wider network of relationships. (paragraph 187) 6. Some Pastoral Perspectives Chapter six is aimed at ministers who will have to accompany couples in the early years of marriage, when in contemporary culture risk of crisis is at its highest. This discussion transitions into the need to minister to abandoned, separated, or divorced persons, stressing the importance of the recently reformed annulment process. The Pope also speaks to families with members who have homosexual tendencies. The section concludes with a discussion of death and widowhood. 7. Towards a Better Education of Children As suggested by the title, chapter 7 speaks to pedagogy. The Pope encourages ethical formation, discipline, prudent punishment, realism, and sex education, warning against the tendencies to want to control every experience of children which results in a desire to dominate. Instead, Pope Francis asks parents to lovingly help children grow in freedom in order to achieve real autonomy through development and discipline. 8. Accompanying, Discerning and Integrating Weakness Chapter 8 focuses on the pastoral care of church members who have been divorced and entered into new unions, or are affected by these "irregular unions" in some way. Rather than "provide a new set of canonical rules, canonical in nature and applicable to all cases," Chapter 8 encourages "a responsible personal and pastoral discernment of particular cases, one which would recognize that, since 'the degree of responsibility is not equal in all cases', the consequences or effects of a rule need not necessarily always be the same." (paragraph 300) Pope Francis continues, "The Church possesses a solid body of reflection concerning mitigating factors and situations. Hence it can no longer simply be said that all those in any 'irregular' situation are living in a state of mortal sin and are deprived of sanctifying grace. More is involved here than mere ignorance of the rule. A subject may know full well the rule, yet have great difficulty in understanding 'its inherent values', or be in a concrete situation which does not allow him or her to act differently and decide otherwise without further sin." (paragraph 301) Following an exhortation to help guide the conscience of persons living in irregular situations (paragraph 303), Pope Francis observes, "Because of forms of conditioning and mitigating factors, it is possible that in an objective situation of sin – which may not be subjectively culpable, or fully such – a person can be living