An African bishop who took part in the Vatican meeting marking the tenth anniversary of Amoris laetitia maintains that chapter VIII of the exhortation remains surrounded by «the same ambiguity we had ten years ago». He told The Pillar, which on Friday, 16 October published a report by journalist Edgar Beltrán featuring impressions from several participants in the closed-door meeting held at the Vatican from 7 to 14 October with the presidents of episcopal conferences and heads of the Eastern Churches. The prelate, whose name and country are not mentioned in the report, called for greater emphasis on conversion and penance, and described the gathering as «a little too tightly controlled».
He was not the only voice to express that view. A Latin-American bishop, also unidentified, told The Pillar that access to the sacraments for those living in irregular unions is «still an open question». In his opinion, case-by-case discernment is too difficult for priests, and both those who approach the issue from a pastoral standpoint and those who do so from canon law remain entrenched in their positions. One day of the meeting was devoted to “accompanying families in difficult situations,” including the footnote in Amoris laetitia that appeared to open the sacraments to some people in irregular unions. According to the report, the gathering did not resolve the disagreement on that point.
Most participants, however, describe a largely non-conflictual atmosphere. An invited expert, whose name is also withheld, characterized the discussions as “solid, but not conflictual,” denied that any debate had taken place, and stressed that the entire document—not only the sacraments question—had been reviewed. Most of those consulted agreed that Leo XIV did not intend to correct or reinterpret Francis’s exhortation, but rather to assess how it has been applied over the past decade.
That is the reading of Marcela Mazzini, an invited expert and vice-dean of Theology at the Catholic University of Argentina, who also participated in the 2015 Synod on the Family. «The Pope does not want to go backwards», she told The Pillar. In her view, the tone was more open than eleven years ago and the synodal method favored listening. She maintained that Amoris laetitia “never claimed to be a rupture” and drew on what Familiaris consortio says about gradualness. She also regretted that the meeting focused too much on the sacraments and not enough on other issues, such as discernment about how previous relationships ended and the duties of justice toward former partners and children.
The other named expert cited, Indian priest Shaji Kochuthara, a Carmelite of Mary Immaculate, believes the controversy is mainly Western, because in his country divorce and premarital cohabitation are rare. According to his reading, the document does not allow communion for everyone living in an irregular situation, but requires case-by-case judgment. “It is not a blank slate, and we saw different approaches, but we still need time,” he summarized.
A large part of the conversations revolved around marriage preparation. The Latin-American bishop compared the years of formation the Church requires of priests and religious with premarital courses that may last “a weekend or two,” and posed a question: “Are we taking marriage as a vocation as seriously as we need to?” Participants spoke of advancing catechesis, involving experienced couples and married deacons, and accompanying couples after the wedding. “There is no better preparation for marriage than a happy family,” Mazzini summarized.
The synthesis report, which was to have been released at the end of the meeting, has still not been published. Organizers indicated that it will remain confidential until the Pope, who underwent lung-cancer surgery on 13 October, has read it and can add his own contributions. The Pillar does not clarify whether it will eventually be made public or whether it will be modified. Mazzini believes Leo XIV will at least write a letter with his reflections, rather than a lengthy apostolic exhortation. In the days before the meeting, the president of the German bishops, Heiner Wilmer, had admitted that communion for divorced and remarried Catholics was discussed controversially, and the bishop of Trondheim, Erik Varden, had defended the “sacramental exile” of the faithful in irregular situations. Ten years after Amoris laetitia, two of the bishops who were in the room acknowledge that the question that divided the Church in 2016 remains unanswered.
Read also
- Wilmer admits that communion for divorced and remarried Catholics was debated controversially in Rome
- Varden, after the meeting on Amoris laetitia, defends the “sacramental exile” of the faithful in irregular situations
- The Pope freezes the conclusions on Amoris Laetitia: nothing is published until he reads them