24/06/2016
AMORIS LAETITIA: Beyond the Lines!
Lessons from Pope Francis Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Joy of Love
PIUSRALPH EFFIONG, SMMM
[email protected]
Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love) came as the long awaited fruit of the two-year synod on the family at the Vatican that had hundreds of bishops from around the world; with the aim to discuss the beauty and challenges of family life in our world today. This gathering of the synod fathers sparked controversy amidst speculations over whether there would be a change in the Church’s aged-long practice that the divorced and civilly remarried may not receive Holy Communion; in accordance with the words of our Lord that “… anyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery” (cf. Matt 19:3-9). Here the Church says that those living in adultery or any other grave sin may not receive Communion. The document (Amoris Laetitia) which was signed by the Holy Father on March 19, 2016 the Solemnity of St. Joseph in the fourth year of his pontificate, was officially published on Friday, April 8, 2016. The 9 chapters and 325 paragraphs on 254 pages work touches thick and thin of marriage, family life and further proffer solutions to the current crises rocking the human family in the area of s*xuality among the young, thus: “Need for S*x Education” (cf. AL 280).
It is against this backdrop that, we are going to open the window of pages of the recent publication by the Holy Father on the Joy of Love (Amoris Laetitia). Following the fifth paragraph of the exhortation, the Holy Father avers: “This Exhortation is especially timely in this Jubilee Year of Mercy. First, because it represents an invitation to Christian families to value the gifts of marriage and the family, and to persevere in a love strengthened by the virtues of generosity, commitment, fidelity and patience. Second, because it seeks to encourage everyone to be a sign of mercy and closeness wherever family life remains imperfect or lacks peace and joy” (AL 5). This therefore is the pinnacle of this great work which has marriage and family life at the centre of the discussion, as s*xuality, marriage and family issues mounting crisis in the world today and the Church in particular.
Amoris Laetitia must be read in “doctrinal continuity” said Fr. Jose Granados, vice president of the John Paul II Pontifical Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family and consultor of the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops. He also offered a lens through which to view the exhortation emphasizing that when certain areas are cloudy or unclear, one must interpret them in conformity with established magisterial teaching of the Catholic Church. The contents of the document have not made a paradigm shift from the traditional practice and teachings of the magisterium, rather it opens arm for the lost sheep as in the parable of the prodigal son. In the light of this, the Holy Father in addressing the Synod fathers during the opening ceremony of the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops said “speak boldly and listen with humility, so as to avoid putting Catholics in pews into the state of confusion by questioning the traditional teachings on marriage and family life.” He further warned against exaggerated views and fears on either side of the debate, stressing that the Church should not be intimidated by what he referred to as “temptations of the world,” nor should it become merely “a museum of memories” which can “drive people away from God.” Instead, he called for the Synod to be “a protected space in which the Church experiences the action of the Holy Spirit.”
Consequently, Amoris Laetitia is not a new wine in an old skin; it is the brain child of the previous magisterial documents, teachings of the popes over the centuries, as well as contributions from the Episcopal Conferences around the world. The first seven paragraphs of the document set out to deal with the central theme of the exhortation - the Joy of Love. Where, the Holy Father began by positing that “The joy of love experienced by families is also the joy of the Church” (AL 1). Again, he instructs that “Since “time is greater than space,” … not all discussions of doctrinal, moral or pastoral issues need to be settled by interventions of the magisterium.” Hence, for some questions, “each country or region … can seek solutions better suited to its culture and sensitive to its traditions and local needs. For ‘cultures are in fact diverse and every general principle … needs to be inculturated, if it is to be respected and applied’” (AL 3). It is highly observed that, this principle of inculturation applies to how problems are formulated and addressed and, apart from dogmatic issues that have been well defined by the Church’s magisterium, none of these approaches can be “globalized”. Recalling his address at the end of the 2015 Synod, the Holy Father said: “What seems normal for a bishop on one continent, is considered strange and almost scandalous for a bishop from another; what is considered a violation of a right in one society is an evident and inviolable rule in another; what for some is freedom of conscience is for others simply confusion.”
This is therefore the background in which the Amoris Laetitia is written. It affirms not the ideal family but very rich and complex reality of the present day family life. It provides openhearted look, nourishment, ideal view, but with pastoral care of the faithful. The document is that which speaks the language of experience and hope for the Church.
Having arrived at this point, let us now x-ray the lessons derived from this recent document by the Holy Father on the present crises rocking human s*xuality, marriage and family life. At the moment, the global world is experiencing quite an alarming scenario of people getting married and ends up in divorce within the tick of a second. More and more same-s*x couples receiving marriage licenses even though these couples will never be able to engender their own biological children. Many live in committed relationships without marrying. As a consequence of this, more children are born from single mothers and more and more live in homes without the presence of a father married to their mother. With all these shift from the normalcy, the Holy Father proffers ways to handle these and many other issues related to this, pastorally.
In the document Amoris Laetitia, we see marriage as a commitment for life between a man and a woman to found a family. Here, Pope Francis magnifies Jesus’ condemnation of divorce, (cf. Mtt 19:3-9) by placing renewed focus on the children while drawing from the painful experience of broken families; given that marital love is geared towards imaging God’s love. The sanctity of marriage is also seen as a reflection of God’s creative plan for our participation in his life, which also serves as the basis for the pope’s appreciation for s*xual differences and his rejection of attempts to recognize same s*x unions as somehow equivalent to marriage.
He also condemns the abusive political intervention in affairs of state or in educational programmes to impose false models of s*xuality and gender that erase the intrinsic and natural beauty of s*xual difference. He draws deeply from Pope St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body to re-propose the beauty of s*xual attraction and erotic love when experienced within the context of mutual and definitive self-gift with transcendent openness to God’s creative power for new life. In the fourth chapter of this document (Love in Marriage), he realistically analyses the love between man and woman while describing the passionate pleasure, joyful rewards, and the daily challenges going along with this state of life. He further describes marital vocation as an elevated call to holiness which inevitably involves suffering while promising an infinitely rich reward.
Amoris Laetitia spells out in colours, “mercy and tenderness” which is Francis’ signature before and in his pontificate. These two attributes according to him offer the lens for understanding how to begin to solve the crisis of marriage and family. He also evaluates the positive fruits and shortcomings of feminism, while condemning in strong terms some forms of feminism stating that the Holy Spirit may be seen working in the efforts to promote the full dignity and right of women. In his words “I certainly value feminism, but one that does not demand uniformity or negate motherhood. For the grandeur of women includes all the rights derived from their inalienable human dignity but also from their feminine genius which is essential to society. Their specifically feminine abilities – motherhood in particular, also grant duties, because womanhood also entails a specific mission in this world, a mission that society needs to protect and preserve for the good of all” (AL 173).
Also it brings to limelight the Holy Family as a model while loosely following Pope Paul VI, Vatican Council II, and St. John Paul II. Here the Holy Father explains how the mystery of the incarnation made manifest in the Holy Family serves as a model and illumination for all families. That is, in the person of Jesus Christ, God made man, he was raised by human parents. “In the Incarnation, he assumes human love, purifies it and brings it to fulfillment. By his spirit, he gives spouses the capacity to live that love, permeating every part of their lives of faith, hope and charity” (AL 67). Pope Francis draws from his predecessor Benedict XVI a deeper understanding of married life with the challenges of the family to make it the joy of love. “Marriage based on an exclusive and definitive love becomes an icon of the relationship between God and his people, and vice versa. God’s way of loving becomes the measure of human love” (AL 90, cf. Deus Caritas Est, 11).
The document further presents a renewed proposal for an education directed at families, as well as s*xual education oriented towards love and helping prepare people for marriage. The Holy Father ends the Exhortation with a call on all: “It is a profound spiritual experience to contemplate our loved ones with eyes of God and to see Christ in them. This demands a freedom and openness which enable us to appreciate their dignity. ” (AL 323).
Finally, Amoris Laetitia is beyond what we heard from the press, individuals and groups. With it, we can glimpse the big picture of Pope Francis’ pastoral efforts, and his wish to bring Christ, and his project of Love, to all families, so that they can live the life of the Gospel to the fullest.
