The Pope’s “exhortation” on the family – “Love in the Family”

Here's a link – Amoris Laetitia

I look forward to reading the document when it is an ebook.

in the meantime, here's a short balanced analysis –

Bill Donohue comments on Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation, "The Joy of Love." To read it click here.

Here's the first part of Donohue's note –

Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation, "The Joy of Love," does not change a single teaching of the Catholic Church, but he does call on Catholics to be more understanding of the irregular family unions that so many find themselves in these days.

The Holy Father acknowledges that there are those, in and out of the church, who harbor "an immoderate desire for total change without sufficient reflection or grounding." These Catholics will be disappointed, if not angry, that they did not get what they wanted.

This unhappiness will also be found among those who possess "an attitude that would solve everything by applying general rules or deriving undue conclusions from particular theological considerations."

In short, Catholics who consider themselves very liberal or very conservative will have another opportunity to sulk.

The Pope makes plain how inadequate it is to cast all discussions on family issues in terms of the nuclear family. He wants us to address the conditions that mark irregular families, and to minister to those in need.

Priests, in particular, must exercise discernment in tending to those in unconventional unions: the ultimate goal is to implement "the logic of pastoral mercy."

Lest he be misunderstood, the Pope is not suggesting that priests exercise flexibility outside the limits prescribed by church teachings. "It is true that general rules set forth a good which can never be disregarded or neglected," he says, "but in their formulation they cannot provide absolutely for all particular situations."