Pope Francis’ much-anticipated post-synodal apostolic exhortation “Amoris Laetitia” (“The Joy of Love: The Love of the Family”) will be released at noon Rome time April 8. The document is sure to draw on the long history of Church teaching and the reflections from the October Synod on the Family.
Archbishop José H. Gomez, who participated in the synod, has written extensively on the family over the last two years. He called the faithful to be “missionaries of the family,” and to “go out into society and help people discover the sanctity and beauty of sexuality and marriage in God’s loving plan for humanity.”
As a preparation for the upcoming exhortation, Angelus News is highlighting the archbishop’s previous reflections:
nGod’s family storyThe deepest mysteries A magnificent planThe Church is the family of GodFamilies and the family of GodBeautiful witness and living testimonyHoly spouses, hidden saintsNo perfect familiesFamily, the essential foundationDomestic churchSchools of love and virtueThe “hidden life” of the familyFoundations of society and cultureEngaging the cultural and political conversation“Families we choose”?Healthy families and the health of societyThe “crisis” of the familyA crisis of creation and the human personFamilies face challengesWhat marriage means, what family is forMarriage and family in AmericaCauses of declineProclaim God’s loving planA new “catechesis” from creationGifts “written into” creationThe union of man and womanPut family firstThe Gospel of the familyGod is a familyMartyrs for marriageKeepers of God’s planHuman ecology
The Synod of Bishops is a permanent institution of the Catholic Church. Pope Paul VI established it in 1965, shortly after the close of the Second Vatican Council, to continue the spirit of collegiality and communion that was present at the council. The synod is an assembly of bishops from around the world who assist the Holy Father by providing counsel on important questions facing the Church in a manner that preserves the Church’s teaching and strengthens her internal discipline.
After a Synod of Bishops, it is common for the Holy Father to issue a substantive document, called a post-synodal apostolic exhortation, which takes up the themes of the synod and deepens them.
