At the conclusion of the Congress, the participants were received in audience by Pope John Paul II, who presented a rosary to each of them. In a statement to the group, the Pope said that, when children are at risk of being rejected by others, it is the family that can best teach them that they are entitled to the same dignity and respect as healthy children enjoy. "Welcoming the weakest, aiding them in their journey, is a sign of civilization," said the Pope.

He stressed that, by themselves, families cannot cope fully with the problems of disabled children and that the Church and the community-at-large must share the burdens of such families. Thus, specialized organizations for disabled children and other forms of help are necessary "to ensure the presence of people with whom the disabled child can dialogue and establish relationships of education and friendship."

An important validation of New Hope has come from the "Recommendations of the Symposium on Brain Alterations" organized by the Pontifical Council for the Family. Two of the symposium's recommendations are as follows:

"We recommend that pastors be aware that behavioral disorders are frequently caused by biochemical imbalance, nutritutional deficiency, and/or immunological reactions to foods or the environment, and that correction of these disorders is possible. "We recommend that the Diocese and parish should guide families these modern therapies, which offer new hope, and also that the parishes make persons with cerebral impairments feel loved and welcomed in the liturgy, catechesis, and all aspects of parish life."