On April 8, 2016 at 10 a.m. Rome time, Lorenzo Cardinal Baldisseri, the Secretary of the Synod on the Family, and Christoph Cardinal Schonborn, the Austrian cardinal and well-known student of then professor Joseph Ratzinger, held a press conference. They release “Amoris Laetitia” (“The Joy of Love”) the much anticipated response of Pope Francis to both the Extraordinary (2014) and the Ordinary (2015) Synods on the family.
We Catholics are still adjusting to the Church under the guidance of Francis, but one thing is certain — it is no longer business as usual. He sees things differently, and he expects Catholics to see things differently. I think he wants the People of God to grow up and be more adult in their membership. This is certainly the case with “Amoris Laetitia.” In the third paragraph of the document, Francis wheels out his “time is greater than space” axiom to introduce this blockbuster. “…I would make it clear that not all discussions of doctrinal, moral or pastoral issues need to be settled by interventions of the magisterium.” From there he goes on to suggest that unity does not mean uniformity and that the universal nature of the Church does not preclude the possibility that, “Each country or region, moreover, can seek solutions better suited to its culture and sensitive to its traditions and local needs.” This is merely a restatement of the principle of subsidiarity (the best decisions are made at the lowest possible level) but it has been a long time since it has been respected in the Roman Catholic Church with regard to its own governance.
So, very early on in the Apostolic Exhortation, “The Joy of Love,” Pope Francis sets down a new standard of expectation for his leadership. If we are waiting for Rome, in the person of the Pope, to speak, and then sides are taken by those who agree and those who are disappointed, Francis will not play that game. There are reasons why he has formed the board of Cardinal advisers; there are reasons why he is recovering Paul VI’s original purpose for the creation of the Synod of Bishops during the Second Vatican Council. Francis is anxious to share his teaching authority!
What Francis says is obviously important, but how he says it is equally important. He frequently lowers expectations that Rome will solve all problems. “We find it difficult to present marriage as a dynamic path to personal development and fulfillment than as a lifelong burden. We also find it hard to make room for the consciences of the faithful, who very often respond as best they can to the Gospel amid their limitations, and are capable of carrying out their own discernment in complex situations. We have been called to form consciences, not replace them.” (#37) Not business as usual.
Chapter IV is a powerful meditation on St. Paul’s well-known and often memorized, “Love is patient, love is kind…” Even if people are unable to find the time to read the whole document (but I hope many do) this chapter should be must reading for all married couples. Francis sounds very much like a wise grandfather when says, “The word ‘love’, however, is commonly used and often misused.” (#89) He uses great verbs to get his point across, “A love that is weak or infirmed, incapable of accepting marriage as a challenge to be taken up and fought for, reborn, renewed and reinvented until death, cannot sustain a great commitment.” (#124) Sometimes he waxes eloquently, “Within the family ‘which could be called the domestic church’ (Lumen Gentium, #11) individuals enter upon an ecclesial experience of communion among persons, which reflects, through grace, the mystery of the Holy Trinity. (#86) On other occasions he is more down to earth, “Crises need to be faced together. This is hard since persons sometimes withdraw in order to avoid saying what they feel; they retreat into a craven silence… Unless a couple learns to do this, they will find it harder and harder as time passes. Communication is an art learned in moments of peace in order to be practiced in moments of difficulty.” (#234)
One issue that drew the greatest attention in both Synods on the Family was the issue of divorced, remarried Catholics and the Eucharist. People expecting the Pope to give a thumb up or down will be disappointed. That is not his style, nor should it be, “If we consider the immense variety of concrete situations such as those I have mentioned it is understandable that neither the Synod nor this Exhortation could be expected to provide a new set of general rules, canonical in nature and applicable to all cases.” (#300)
Basically, Francis is saying there is no one size fits all set of rules that will solve all problems. He asks that pastors and Christian communities extend “mercy” to all who feel alienated from full participation in the life of the Church. People should not be made to feel cut off (excommunicated) from the Church. Rather than try to do the impossible and come up with a new set of rules, Francis is suggesting that in a prayerful and respectful way pastors and people work out solutions that respect the ideal of marriage and its lived experience.
The pope has no illusions about how his approach will disappoint some people, “I understand those who prefer a more rigorous pastoral care, which leaves no room for confusion. But I sincerely believe that Jesus wants a Church attentive to the goodness which the Holy Spirit sows in the midst of human weakness, a Mother who, while clearly expressing her objective teaching, ‘always does what good she can, even if in the process, her shoes get soiled by the mud of the street’.”
Here is Francis at his best asking us to be at our best, “Keep an open mind. Don’t get bogged down in your own limited ideas and opinions but be prepared to change and expand them.” (#139) Certainly not business as usual.
Father Creedon is Pastor Emeritus of Christ the King Parish in Kingston.
