Pope Leo XIV calls bishops' conference presidents to Rome to review Amoris laetitia
Presidents of the world's bishops' conferences will meet in Rome from October 7 to 14 to assess how Amoris laetitia has been applied and its effect on family ministry, 10 years after Pope Francis published it
Pope Leo XIV has begun preparations for a meeting on Amoris laetitia, the document published in 2016 by his predecessor, Pope Francis. The meeting will be held in Rome from October 7 to 14 and will bring together the presidents of every bishops' conference in the world to assess the pastoral situation of couples and families a decade after the document appeared. The Vatican press office confirmed the plans on Saturday.
The pope recently received Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, and Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops. No official statement has been issued on the details of the meeting. It is expected to show how Amoris laetitia has been interpreted and applied in different parts of the world.
A change of approach toward the divorced and remarried
Francis's document changed the Church's stance toward Catholics who have divorced and remarried. It promoted a cautious openness toward them and proposed a different approach to couples in "irregular" situations. It drew mixed reactions, including criticism from some conservative cardinals and bishops. The October meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss these questions and how they have developed since.
The debate over same-sex couples
The meeting will also address the sections of Amoris laetitia that deal with same-sex couples. In the document, Francis said that "there is no basis for establishing analogies between homosexual unions and God's plan for marriage and the family." He also called for people with a homosexual orientation to be treated with dignity and respect.
The internal discussion on how to treat same-sex couples has moved on since then, in part because of Fiducia supplicans. That document, issued by Víctor Fernández, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, allows informal blessings of such unions.
An unusual format in the Catholic Church
A meeting of the presidents of bishops' conferences is an unusual format in the Catholic Church. Such gatherings are not synods under canon law, but they are organized in a similar way.
