Pope gives new name, new focus to John Paul II Institute on Marriage and Family

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Pope gives new name, new focus to John Paul II Institute on Marriage and Family | News Headlines

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The new Institute is intended to take a different approach to the study of family life, reflecting the work of the two recent Synod meetings and the Pope’s own apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia.

While praising the vision of his predecessor, Pope Francis says that the revision of the Institute is a response to “the new pastoral challenges to which the Christian community is called to respond.” He writes:

Anthropological-cultural change, that today influences all aspects of life and requires an analytic and diversified approach, does not permit us to limit ourselves to practices in pastoral ministry and mission that reflect forms and models of the past…

Archbishop Paglia said that the new Institute will build in the “great insight” of Pope John Paul II. He argued the Pope Francis has achieved a fuller “realization” of his predecessor’s teaching on marriage, in his own document Amoris Laetitia, which will be the inspiration for the Institute.
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Fuller “realization” than Pope Saint John Paul the Great’s teaching??? Wow.
 
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Yes, we know so much more about marriage and the family in 2013 as opposed to, say, 2003. So much more. We’re so much more enlightened. Especially after groundbreaking works like Father Martin’s recent tome on building bridges and all this talk of “differently ordered” types of marriages and families.
 
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Vadne said:
Yes, we know so much more about marriage and the family in 2013 as opposed to, say, 2003.
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The original institute was establishes in 1981. The Institute is 36 years old. The changes proposed are an expansion from straight theology to include courses in the social sciences. His proposal is to offer degree programs and the expansion of curriculum is part of that process. As a Jesuit, it is understandable that Pope Francis would see the value of educating those who will be helping to strengthen families.
 
No one is bashing the pope. You consistently interpret the remotest questioning of any papal decision as “bashing.” Rush to judgment is also potentially sinful. If one were to quote you, one would say…“Repent.”
 
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Sorry, but my first thought when I opened the thread was the same as PluniaZ.

One would expect all teaching, or at least all teaching of a human, even a saint, to evolve and be expanded upon. We don’t just take what St. Pope JPII or any other saint said, wrap it up in a box and say “There you go, everything you need to know forever on Marriage and the Family.” You build upon it.

The entire tone of the thread suggests the usual looking askance at Pope Francis and AL.
 
Pope Francis is doing his job. Continuing the work of those who went before him, right back to St Peter
 
Notice that when Familiaris Consortio…or even Humanae Vitae…was released, you didn’t have cardinals issuing formal dubia.

Amoris Laetitia is simply a problematic document, in part because of its notorious footnote, but also because unlike previous papal documents, it has led to wildly divergent episcopal interpretations.

The ghostwritten Amoris Laetitia has engendered a real crisis in the Church, and the blame for that crisis rests with the pope who refuses to resolve the serious questions raised by multiple bishops, and yet who has on the record insulted more Catholics than any pope in recent memory.
 
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This is very interesting and I look forward to hearing more about it. There are many possibilities for clarification and better understanding, and not necessarily in a ‘negative’ way, so I’m praying this will be helpful for all Catholics.
 
Yes, and when those documents were released, we did not have the instant communication that we do now, where anyone can go to a website and read it. In fact, most of the laity never even Knew a new document was out there unless their priest said something.

Your disdain for the Holy Father is quite apparent. AL has not caused a crisis, the arm-chair theologians who want everything to be black & white are the problem. Life is messy and people don’t fit into nice little boxes. Pope Francis gets that, why can’t others.
 
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Amoris Laetitia has indeed caused a crisis. Different bishops are interpreting it in wildly divergent ways, and four cardinals issued formal dubia that the pope hasn’t bothered to answer amid his many impromptu press conferences.
 
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I will say, even if communion for the divorced and remarried is the correct interpretation and without error, I pray that Pope Francis will directly address the concerns of the Bishops. I think you are right that this document has created confusion and division, and I hope the Pope can step forward and be a point of unity and clarity for the Church.
 
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Yes, this development is particularly disturbing. In the end, it will depend on what people are placed in positions of power. I do not have strong hopes on that front that it will remain a truly orthodox organization, given the makeup of those who have been placed in positions of power in the Vatican lately. Basing the institute on AL is also particularly concerning, given the questions hanging over that document. We can only pray for the intercession of the Lord should the new Institute work against Catholic teachings on marriage rather than for them.
 
Such letters are not seen as clear exercises of the Pope’s magisterial teaching authority, no? There have been requests for a formal response and still clear confusion among Bishops about how best to implement this document, yet a formal response has not come.
 
It doesn’t matter how certain people claim to “see” the Pope’s writing. He is the head of the Church. He is the Vicar of Jesus Christ. We are not.

He speaks. We obey.
 
No, we’re talking 3 decades here. My parents, my husbands parents, and many of my friends who have raised children into adulthood speak of the vast differences that I face as a mother of young ones than they or their children faced.

Laws involving children are incredibly different. There are some places where children cannot be unattended in their own backyard. My friend’s parents traveled hundreds of miles with her in a bassinette, but now car seats are legislated until 8 or older depending on a child’s size. To pretend these (often intrusive) laws don’t impact parents and faith practices would be short-sighted.

As a child, it wasn’t uncommon to hear about a friend’s parents being divorced, but it’s nowhere near the depravity and immorality that I will have to help my children navigate.

That dosn’t even take into account navigating technology. Nevermind the absolutely immoral things like pornography, but what about what I feel is immoral—sharing pictures of one’s children in less than a flattering light. Much has changed since the 1980’s when it comes to parenting and family life.
 
The pope has not clarified Amoris Laetitia, and the matter is not settled.
 
No, the pope does not simply speak and we obey. That is an overly simplistic and misleading vision of Catholicism. And it implies that the dubia cardinals, among others, are disobedient. Well Plunia…as you’re fond of saying to others…that’s slander, so repent.
 
Honestly, it would be more surprising if Pope Francis did not do this.

Think about it. The original pontifical institute was established in the wake of the 1980 Synod on the Family. The Church had two additional synods on the family in 2014 and 2015. It would be odd for the Pontifical Institute on marriage and the family not to take those other two synods into account.

I’m kind of curious to read the English translation of the motu proprio. It is not yet on the Vatican website, and the Vatican News story only gives the Latin text. Is he really closing down one and staring up a new one, or is he just making modifications to the name and focus of the Institute that already exists?

Either way, though, it makes sense for a Pontifical Institute on marriage and the family that was founded in the wake of a Synod on the family to also take into consideration more recent Synods on the family.

He didn’t change the name to the Pope Francis Pontifical Institute. 😉
 
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Vadne said:
Amoris Laetitia has indeed caused a crisis. Different bishops are interpreting it in wildly divergent ways,
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In the United States, divergent interpretations of the same law or guideline or regulation is considered a healthy thing as it allows various alternatives to develop and serves as a lab for ideas.

Like the United States, the Church is also a big, geographically spread, diverse body united by a guiding set of principles; why shouldn’t different locations have some latitude to see what works and what does not?

If some interpretation goes wildly off track, then I’m sure the Holy Father is capable of smacking it down before it does harm.
 
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