“Amoris Laetitia,” “The Joy of Love”

[rose_kelly]

I approve of it. Pope Francis is showing that the Church has a lot of mercy. God bless him.

I share that view, and providing we as Catholics remember to continue praying for the Pope and our Church we should feel confident that the Pope is being guided and directed by the Holy Spirit.

 

[powerofk]

I don’t think I should say much, since I haven’t read the whole thing (it IS 264 pages), but the parts I’ve read seem okay to me, and insightful.

The secular media always pushes it’s agenda of course, and they know not many of their viewers are going to read a 264 page document.

That said, I am confused by this statement, however.

“I would also point out that the Eucharist “is not a prize
for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for
the weak” (ibid., 47: 1039).” -Amoris Laetitia

There’s really no conflict between these two. We are all sinners. If we were perfect, we’d be in Heaven.

Also, all venial sins are forgiven by reception of the Eucharist, and the Eucharist bestows on us graces to avoid falling into mortal sin. At the same time, anyone in mortal sin generally knows (or is in objective denial about it) that he/she is in a state of mortal sin. Objectively speaking, one cannot commit a mortal sin if he/she does not understand that what he/she has done is a mortal sin. Of course, if a person refuses to accept that a behavior is gravely sinful, it does not reduce the culpability.

What’s going on now is that people are more catechized by the world than by the Church. Pope Francis understands this, and knows that the Church cannot catechize people who believe that the Church doesn’t accept them. The first step is allowing them to feel welcome, and then catechizing them with the Truth stated in Love.

For example, I would say that the majority of Catholics don’t realize that missing Mass is a mortal sin. Why? Because they haven’t been taught this by anyone - their parents, their catechists, or their priests.

In addition, very few Catholics know about NFP. Often they’ve vaguely heard about it, but the general perception (promoted by the world) is that it’s the “rhythm method”, which my late maternal grandmother called “Vatican Roulette”. As such, even though it’s widely known that the Church condemns artificial birth control as intrinsically evil, the majority believe they have no other real alternative.

Regardless, we have to understand how Pope Francis sees the Church. He sees it primarily as a field hospital working behind enemy lines, with its primary job right now to bring in the sick and injured, and nurse them back to health.

 

[pnewton]

Fellow Posters:

I’ve followed reports on this, and the secular reports are all over the map. Jimmy Akin did a good job on his commentary, and Fr. John Zuhlsdorf has a good one from the Confraternity that can be found here:

wdtprs.com/blog/2016/04/more-musings-on-amorislaetitiae-and-a-statement-from-great-confccb-priests/

An excellent article. I like his emphasis on the nature of exhortation. In all the talk of dealing with the myriad of troubled marital situations, one thing that keeps getting left out is that the priest, the soldier of Christ on the front line, is involved and charged with the pastoral care for the soul. It is he that needs encouragement. Pope Francis in instilling in these priests a vision of mercy. He is also constantly going back to the importance of keeping the ideal of marriage alive. Doctrine has not changed.

One comment tried to boil down the impression of the document as “if it feels good, do it.” This is so far from the truth. Let us have enough faith in our priests that are out there to dispel this misconception as they come across it.

 

[anon67074017]

I share that view, and providing we as Catholics remember to continue praying for the Pope and our Church we should feel confident that the Pope is being guided and directed by the Holy Spirit.

I believe that he is guided by the Holy Spirit.

 

[Listener]

I would like to recommend that everyone read this document themselves. I Googled Amoris Laetitia and found the whole document right there on the vatican.va site. Normally, when I try to read something that a pope has written, I find myself so bored that I simply can’t continue reading. Not so with this document!

It is actually a blueprint for what Christian marriage is intended to be. It is great educational material for anyone who does not have a clue about the Church’s teaching on Christian marriage. After I started reading it, I found that I couldn’t stop. Pope Francis backs up almost everything he says with either scripture or documents written by previous popes. He even explains the Catholic understanding of the “Woman Submit!” thing, and he even mentions that some people don’t get beyond teenage mentality until they are in their forties. I found it absolutely fascinating reading!

Many people will read it to find out if it is liberal or conservative, but it is neither. It is a good piece of work. I’m sure that many people in the news media would be receiving quite an education if they would actually read this document.

 

[rose_kelly]

I would like to recommend that everyone read this document themselves. I Googled Amoris Laetitia and found the whole document right there on the vatican.va site. Normally, when I try to read something that a pope has written, I find myself so bored that I simply can’t continue reading. Not so with this document!

It is actually a blueprint for what Christian marriage is intended to be. It is great educational material for anyone who does not have a clue about the Church’s teaching on Christian marriage. After I started reading it, I found that I couldn’t stop. Pope Francis backs up almost everything he says with either scripture or documents written by previous popes. He even explains the Catholic understanding of the “Woman Submit!” thing, and he even mentions that some people don’t get beyond teenage mentality until they are in their forties. I found it absolutely fascinating reading!

Many people will read it to find out if it is liberal or conservative, but it is neither. It is a good piece of work. I’m sure that many people in the news media would be receiving quite an education if they would actually read this document.

Just googled as you recommended and got the whole document to download.
I haven’t read it yet, but will do so taking the time to absorb it all. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[AussieGirl19]

There’s really no conflict between these two. We are all sinners. If we were perfect, we’d be in Heaven.

Also, all venial sins are forgiven by reception of the Eucharist, and the Eucharist bestows on us graces to avoid falling into mortal sin. At the same time, anyone in mortal sin generally knows (or is in objective denial about it) that he/she is in a state of mortal sin. Objectively speaking, one cannot commit a mortal sin if he/she does not understand that what he/she has done is a mortal sin. Of course, if a person refuses to accept that a behavior is gravely sinful, it does not reduce the culpability.

What’s going on now is that people are more catechized by the world than by the Church. Pope Francis understands this, and knows that the Church cannot catechize people who believe that the Church doesn’t accept them. The first step is allowing them to feel welcome, and then catechizing them with the Truth stated in Love.

** For example, I would say that the majority of Catholics don’t realize that missing Mass is a mortal sin. Why? Because they haven’t been taught this by anyone - their parents, their catechists, or their priests. **

In addition, very few Catholics know about NFP. Often they’ve vaguely heard about it, but the general perception (promoted by the world) is that it’s the “rhythm method”, which my late maternal grandmother called “Vatican Roulette”. As such, even though it’s widely known that the Church condemns artificial birth control as intrinsically evil, the majority believe they have no other real alternative.

Regardless, we have to understand how Pope Francis sees the Church. He sees it primarily as a field hospital working behind enemy lines, with its primary job right now to bring in the sick and injured, and nurse them back to health.

This is so true. I didn’t find out until I probably a year or two ago (I’m 22) that attending Sunday mass was an obligation. I didn’t even know what a mortal and venial sin was until about 17. I have discovering this forum to thank for most of my knowledge of Catholic teachings. This is despite having been raised Catholic and attending a Catholic school for 5 years. It’s disheartening that the internet has been my primary source of knowledge.

 

[Abiding_in_Love]

It’s on my reading list. I hope that people turn to good sources in order to clarify this document instead of believing whatever the media says.