Pope Francis greets a couple at the end of his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican January 8 (CNS photo/Paul Haring) The language of accompaniment is nothing new to the post-synodal apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, released to the public April 10, nor even to the pontificate of Pope Francis. In his [...]
A moral theologian sets forth a closely reasoned guide to the development of moral doctrine In the exhortation Amoris Lætitia, the most controversial question is the one concerning Communion for the divorced and remarried, which however is never expressly mentioned. It must be noted that above all, in the eighth chapter the language is at times [...]
Pope Francis at the Synod on the Family The “received wisdom” is that the Pope’s document is about Communion for the divorced and remarried, but is it really so? You could be forgiven for having decided that Amoris Laetitia is a failed document. If you accept, as it seems to be the received wisdom [...]
October 24, 2015, Saturday — Three Less Unanimous Paragraphs (with Vote Total "While insisting on God’s love for homosexual persons and the obligation to respect their dignity, the report also insisted homosexual unions could not be recognized as marriages and denounced as 'totally unacceptable' governments or international organizations making recognition of 'marriage’ between persons of the [...]
August 12, 2015, Wednesday — Rubicon Introductory note We are just coming out with a special, splendid 132-page Commemorative Edition of Inside the Vatican magazine, welcoming Pope Francis to America. The Pope will visit Washington, New York and Philadelphia from September 22 to 27, after a visit to Cuba from September 19 to 22. At the [...]
Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning! With this catechesis we take up again our reflection on the family. After speaking last time of wounded families caused by the misunderstanding of spouses, today I would like to focus our attention on another reality: how to take care of those that, following the irreversible failure of their marital [...]
Pope Francis greets newylweds in St. Peter’s Square at his general audienceon June 6, 2013. Italian Vatican observer Sandro Magister has said that Pope Francis’ “formidable praise” for Paul VI’s Humanae Vitae is key to understanding his papacy’s alternating emphases of both clear doctrine and pastoral mercy. Magister, writing in his May 1 column at the [...]
Pope Francis' Morning Mass - Casa Santa Marta - Vatican City, February, 28 2014 From the Vatican Radio In remarks following the readings of the day, the Holy Father focused on the beauty of marriage and warned that the Church must accompany – not condemn – those who experience failure in married life. He explained that Christ [...]
Pope Francis greets newlyweds (Galazka photo). Amid increasing speculation that the Catholic Church might make it easier for divorced and remarried members to receive Communion, the Vatican’s highest doctrinal official on October 22 reaffirmed Church teaching barring such persons from the sacrament without an annulment of their first, sacramental marriage. But Archbishop Gerhard Müller, [...]
Readers who enjoy discussions of the “Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?” variety will love this book. Starting with the all-but-universal assumption that today’s lower birthrates throughout the West are a consequence of the decline in religious belief and practice, Eberstadt provides abundant evidence that this reverses the actual causality. “Smaller families mean less [...]