The family is the original cell of social life. It is the natural society in which husband and wife are called to give themselves in love and in the gift of life. Authority, stability, and a life of relationships within the family constitute the foundations for freedom, security, and fraternity within society. The family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honor God, and make good use of freedom. Family life is an initiation into life in society. (CCC, #2207)(USCCB, Natural Family Planning Program)
Marriages benefit society by building and strengthening human relationships within the home (among spouses and children) and beyond (involving relatives, neighbors, and communities). For this reason, the family has long been understood as the fundamental unit of society, the foundation from which religious, civic, and legal organizations naturally develop and flourish (USCCB, How Does Society Benefit from Strong Marriages?)
Marriage is the greatest social educator of children. It is the institution that most effectively teaches the civic virtues of honesty, loyalty, trust, self-sacrifice, personal responsibility, and respect for others. The virtues cultivated between men and women in mar-riage, and between parents and the children, radiate outward into civil society. They deepen in married men and women strong habits of devotion to civic life. (Id., citing Wilcox, Sacred Vows, Public Purposes: Religion, the Marriage Movement, & Marriage Policy, 2002, pp. 3, 28; https://www.issuelab.org/resources/11014/11014.pdf )