Both conservatives and liberals will find fault in his latest message on family life. But he should be praised for easing hard-line theologyIn Pope Francis’s Amoris Laetitia (The delight of admire),an apostolic exhortation on catholic family life, he does not obtain soil-shattering doctrinal changes with regards to divorced Catholics, or same-sex married Catholics or the church’s stance on homosexuality. The document is the Pope’s way of saying to the clergy and Catholics alike: we can’t change the rules,but it is time to change your attitude about them all the same. The document covers married life, family life, and singleness,the education of children and procreation. It does not suggest a different role for women, relying on the teachings of complementarity of the sexes. Rather, or what is key is the recognition that “the church has proposed a far too summary and artificial theological idea of marriage,far removed from the concrete situations and practical possibilities of real families”. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com