Pope Francis’s Love Letter Invites Deeper Reflection On The Beauty Of Marriage And Christ’s Teaching
A Statement from Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville
President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Today I joyfully welcome Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), the much anticipated post-synodal apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis.
The pope has given us a love letter to families—a love letter inviting all of us, and especially married couples and families, to never stop growing in love. It is also a love letter calling the Church, the family of God, to realize more and more her mission to live and love as a family.
Pope Francis is calling us to enter more deeply into the beauty of marriage and Christ’s teaching. From the opening lines of Genesis to the closing chapter of Revelation, and throughout the Gospels, God speaks eloquently to us about the joys and challenges of marriage and family life.
The Holy Father is giving us an active opportunity to reflect upon how each of us can belong more deeply to Christ. The Joy of Love is inviting us to share the treasure and medicine of Jesus. The teaching of Jesus inspires us to live out God’s hope for us, and the mercy of Jesus heals and sustains us when we fall short. Let us remember that no obstacle is too big for Christ to overcome.
I encourage all to read and reflect on how the words of Pope Francis can be applied in our lives, in our families, and in our society. I am grateful once again to our Holy Father for encouraging and leading us in our call to encounter Jesus ever more deeply, especially in the great gift of family life, and to be His missionary disciples in the world.
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I encourage you to prayerfully read this reflection on the family and marital love. Contrary to what you may have read, “On Love in the Family” is not a departure from Church teaching and practice. Bishop Robert Barron wrote: “The Pope by no means is ‘relaxing Church rules on divorce.’ In fact, he emphatically reaffirms the centrality and indissolubility of marriage, and he actually says nothing about Communion for the divorced and remarried.” If you live in an “irregular relationship”: civil marriage, living together or are remarried without an annulment, I love you and encourage you to participate in the life of the parish, as fully as possible, in your present status. You cannot minister in the Mass and cannot receive Communion, however, you are a beloved member of the parish and you are able to participate in faith formation and serve the needy. Come to me with your history and concerns and you will encounter mercy. I will walk with you on your journey of living more fully in love with Christ and his Church.
Your servant in Christ, Father Paul