Vatican will keep Amoris Laetitia report private and deliver it to Pope Leo XIV

The Vatican will keep the final report of the conclave on Amoris Laetitia confidential. The meeting ran from October 7 to 14, 2026. The decision was announced on October 12 in a joint statement signed by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, and Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the Synod on Synodality.

The statement said: "The synthesis report of the meeting will be presented and discussed in the assembly... as scheduled. However, contrary to what had previously been announced, it will not be made public." Members of the assembly will present and discuss the document privately on October 14, with no outside access of any kind.

Report to the pope during his recovery

Pope Leo XIV will receive the results of the assembly and give instructions once his recovery is complete. The dossier being sent to him includes the full text of every individual intervention, the synthesis report, the results of the final plenary session and detailed reports from the 16 small groups that took part, known as the "conversations in the Spirit."

Vatican sources said several of those working documents had already been given directly to the pope during his stay at the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital in Rome, allowing governance to continue while he recovers from the surgery carried out on October 13.

Schedule changes

The pope's hospitalization forced the cancellation of his closing address, which had been set for the afternoon of October 14. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, recently named dean of the College of Cardinals, will preside at the closing Mass of the conclave instead.

Background

Grech and Farrell led the conclave on the family. Those taking part included cardinals of differing pastoral outlooks: Blase Cupich of Chicago, Robert McElroy of Washington, Joseph Tobin of Newark, José Cobo Cano of Madrid and Pablo Virgilio David of the Philippines. Theologians who specialize in family and pastoral questions also attended.

The small-group method had been presented as a way to encourage dialogue during the meeting, which went ahead as planned despite the pope's absence for health reasons.

The pope himself asked for the confidentiality. He wants to read the material closely and respond to it after he is discharged from the hospital. Audiences and scheduled events are canceled until Tuesday, October 20. He is expected to be discharged on October 19 or 20, followed by another week of recovery that would delay his full return to his schedule until October 26 or 27.