POST-SYNODAL APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION
AMORIS LÆTITIA
OF
THE HOLY FATHER
FRANCIS
CHAPTER
EIGHT
accompanyinG, discerninG and inTeGraTinG Weakness
291. The Synod Fathers
stated that, although the Church realizes that any breach of the mar- riage
bond “is against the will of God”, she is also
“conscious of the frailty of many of her chil- dren”.311 Illumined by the gaze of
Jesus Christ, “she turns with love to those who participate in her life
in an incomplete manner, recognizing that the grace of God works also in their
lives by giving them the courage to
do good, to care for one another in love and
to be of service to the community in which they live and work”.312 This
approach is also confirmed by our celebration of this Jubilee Year devoted
to mercy. Although she constantly holds up the call to perfection and asks for a fuller response to God, “the
Church must accompany with attention and care the weakest of her children, who
show signs of a wounded and troubled love, by restoring in them hope and
confidence, like the beacon of a lighthouse in a port or a torch carried among
the people to en- lighten those who have lost
their way or who are
311 Relatio Synodi 2014, 24.
312 Ibid. 25.
in the midst of
a
storm”.313 Let us not
forget that the Church’s task is often like that of a field hospital.
292. Christian marriage,
as a reflection of the union between Christ
and his Church, is fully realized in the union between a man and a woman who
give themselves to each other in a
free, faithful and exclusive love, who
belong to each other until death and are open to the transmis- sion of life,
and are consecrated by the sacra- ment, which grants them the grace to
become a domestic church and a leaven
of new life for society. Some forms
of union radically contra- dict this ideal, while others realize it in at least
a partial and analogous way. The
Synod Fathers stated that the Church does not disregard the constructive
elements in those situations which do not yet or no longer correspond to her teach- ing on marriage.314
GraduaLness in
pasToraL care
293. The Fathers also
considered the specific situation of a merely civil marriage or, with due distinction, even simple cohabitation, noting that “when
such unions attain a
particular stabili- ty, legally recognized, are characterized
by deep affection and responsibility for their offspring, and demonstrate an
ability to overcome trials,
313 Ibid., 28.
314 Cf. ibid., 41, 43; Relatio
Finalis 2015, 70.
they can provide occasions for pastoral care with
a view to the eventual celebration of the sacra- ment of marriage”.315 On the other hand, it is a source
of concern that many young
people today distrust
marriage and live together, putting
off indefinitely the commitment of marriage, while yet others break a commitment already
made and immediately assume a
new one. “As members of the Church,
they too need pastoral care that is merciful
and helpful”.316 For the Church’s pastors are not only responsible for promoting Christian marriage, but also
the “pastoral discernment of the situations of a great many who no longer live this
reality. Entering into pastoral
dialogue with these persons is needed to distinguish elements in their lives
that can lead to a greater openness to the Gospel of marriage in its fullness”.317 In this pastoral discernment, there is a need “to
identify elements that can foster evangelization and human and spiritual growth”.318
294. “The choice of a
civil marriage or, in many cases, of
simple cohabitation, is often not motivated by prejudice or resistance to a
sacra- mental union, but by cultural
or contingent situa- tions”.319 In such cases, respect
also can be shown for those signs of love which in some way reflect
315 Ibid., 27.
316 Ibid., 26.
317 Ibid., 41.
318 Ibid.
319 Relatio Finalis 2015, 71.
God’s own love.320 We know that there is “a con- tinual increase in the number of those who, after having lived together for a
long period, request the celebration of marriage in Church. Simply to live together is often a choice based on a
general attitude opposed to anything institutional or de- finitive; it can also
be done while awaiting more security in life (a steady job and steady income).
In some countries, de facto unions are very numer- ous,
not only because of a rejection of values concerning the family and matrimony, but pri- marily because
celebrating a marriage is consid- ered too expensive in the social
circumstances. As a result, material poverty drives people into de facto unions”.321 Whatever the case, “all these
situations require a constructive response seek- ing to transform them into
opportunities that can lead to the full reality of marriage and fam- ily in
conformity with the Gospel. These cou- ples need to be welcomed and guided
patiently and discreetly”.322 That is how Jesus treated the
Samaritan woman (cf. Jn 4:1-26): he
addressed her desire for true love, in
order to free her from the darkness
in her life and to bring her to the full joy of the Gospel.
295. Along these lines,
Saint John Paul II pro- posed the
so-called “law of gradualness” in the knowledge that the human being “knows, loves
320 Cf. ibid.
321 Relatio Synodi 2014, 42.
322 Ibid., 43.
and accomplishes moral good by
different stag- es of growth”.323 This is not a “gradualness of law”
but rather a gradualness in the prudential exercise of free acts on the part of
subjects who are not in a position
to understand, appreciate, or fully carry out the
objective demands of the law. For the law is itself a gift of God which
points out the way, a gift for
everyone without excep- tion; it can be followed with the help of grace, even
though each human being “advances grad- ually with the progressive integration
of the gifts of God and the demands of God’s
definitive and absolute love in his or her entire personal and
social life”.324
The discernmenT of “irreGuLar” siTuaTions 325
296. The Synod addressed
various situations of weakness or
imperfection. Here I would like to reiterate something I sought to make clear
to the whole Church, lest we take the wrong path: “There are two ways of thinking which recur
throughout the Church’s history:
casting off and reinstating. The Church’s way, from the time of the Council
of Jerusalem, has always always been
the way of Jesus, the way of
mercy and reinstate- ment… The way of
the Church is not to con- demn anyone for ever; it is to pour out the balm
323 Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio (22 November 1981), 34: AAS 74 (1982), 123.
324 Ibid., 9: AAS 74 (1982), 90.
325 Cf. Catechesis
(24 June 2015): L’Osservatore Romano, 25 June 2015, p. 8.
of God’s mercy on all those who ask for it with a sincere heart… For true charity is always un- merited, unconditional and gratuitous”.326 Con- sequently,
there is a need “to avoid judgements
which do not take into account the complexity of various situations” and “to be
attentive, by necessity, to how
people experience distress be- cause of
their condition”.327
297.
It is a matter of
reaching out to everyone, of needing to help each person find his or her proper
way of participating in the ecclesial
com- munity and thus to experience being touched by an “unmerited,
unconditional and gratuitous” mercy.
No one can be condemned for ever, be- cause that is not the logic of the Gospel!
Here I am not speaking only of
the divorced and re- married, but of
everyone, in whatever situation they find themselves. Naturally, if someone
flaunts an objective sin as if it were part of
the Christian ideal, or wants to
impose something other than what the Church teaches, he or she can in no way presume to teach or preach
to others; this is a case of something which sepa-
rates from the community (cf. Mt 18:17).
Such a person needs to listen once more
to the Gos- pel message and its call
to conversion. Yet even for that
person there can be some way of tak- ing
part in the
life of community,
whether in
326 Homily
at Mass Celebrated with the New Cardinals (15 February
2015): AAS 107 (2015), 257.
327
Relatio
Finalis 2015, 51.
social service, prayer meetings or another way that his or her own
initiative, together with the discernment of the parish priest, may suggest. As for the way of dealing with
different “irreg- ular” situations,
the Synod Fathers reached a general consensus,
which I support: “In con- sidering a
pastoral approach towards people who
have contracted a civil marriage, who are divorced and remarried, or simply living togeth-
er, the Church has the responsibility of helping them understand the
divine pedagogy of grace in their lives and offering them
assistance so they can reach the fullness of God’s
plan for them”,328 something which is always possible by
the power of the Holy Spirit.
298. The divorced
who have entered a new un- ion,
for example, can find themselves in a variety of situations, which should not
be pigeonholed or fit into overly rigid classifications leaving no room for a
suitable personal and pastoral dis- cernment. One thing is
a second union consoli- dated
over time, with new children,
proven fidelity, generous
self giving, Christian commitment, a consciousness of its irregularity and of
the great difficulty of going back without feeling in con- science that one
would fall into new sins. The Church
acknowledges situations “where, for se- rious reasons, such as the children’s upbringing, a man and woman
cannot satisfy the obligation
328
Relatio Synodi
2014, 25.
to separate”.329 There are also the cases
of those who made every effort to save their first mar- riage and were
unjustly abandoned, or of “those who have entered
into a second union for the sake of the children’s
upbringing, and are some- times subjectively certain in conscience that their previous and irreparably broken
marriage had never been valid”.330 Another thing is a new un-
ion arising from a recent divorce,
with all the suf- fering and confusion
which this entails for
children and entire
families, or the case of someone who has
consistently failed
in his obligations to the family. It must remain clear that this is not the
ideal which the Gospel proposes
for marriage and the family.
The Synod Fathers stated that the discernment of pastors must always
take place “by adequately distinguishing”,331 with an approach which “care-
fully discerns situations”.332 We know
that
no “easy
recipes” exist.333
329 John pauL II,
Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio
(22
November 1981), 84: AAS 74 (1982), 186. In such situations, many people, knowing
and accepting the
possibility of living “as
brothers and sisters” which the Church
offers them, point out
that if certain
expressions of intimacy
are lacking, “it often happens that faithfulness is endangered and
the good of the children suffers” (second vaTican ecumenicaL counciL, Pastoral Constitution on the Church
in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 51).
330 Ibid.
331 Relatio Synodi 2014, 26.
332 Ibid., 45.
333 benedicT XVI, Address to
the Seventh World Meeting of Families in Milan (2 June 2012), Response n. 5: Insegnamenti VIII/1 (2012), 691.
299. I am in agreement
with the many Synod Fathers who observed that “the baptized who are divorced
and civilly remarried need to be more fully integrated into Christian communities in the variety of ways
possible, while avoiding any occasion of scandal. The logic of integra- tion is the key to their pastoral care, a care which
would allow them not only to realize that they belong to the Church as the body
of Christ, but also to know that they can have a joyful and fruit-
ful experience in it. They are baptized; they are brothers and sisters; the
Holy Spirit pours into their hearts gifts and talents for the good of all.
Their participation can be expressed in differ- ent ecclesial services, which
necessarily requires discerning which of the various forms of exclu- sion
currently practised in the liturgical, pastoral, educational and institutional
framework, can be surmounted. Such persons need to feel not as excommunicated members
of the Church, but instead as living members, able to live and grow in the Church and experience her as a mother who
welcomes them always, who takes care
of them with affection and encourages them along the path of life and the
Gospel. This integration is also needed in the care and Christian upbring- ing of their children,
who ought to be considered most important”.334
334
Relatio
Finalis 2015, 84.
300. If we consider the immense variety
of con- crete 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. What is possible is simply a
renewed encouragement to undertake a
responsible personal and pastoral discernment of particular cases, one which
would recognize that, since “the degree of responsibility is not equal in
all cases”,335 the consequences or ef- fects of a rule need not necessarily always be the same.336 Priests have the duty to “accompany [the divorced and remarried] in helping
them to un- derstand their situation according to the teaching
of the Church and the guidelines of the bishop.
Useful in this process is an examination of con- science through moments
of reflection and re- pentance. The divorced and remarried should ask
themselves: how did they act towards their children when the conjugal union
entered into crisis; whether or not they made attempts at re- conciliation;
what has become of the abandoned party; what consequences the new relationship has on the rest of the family
and the community of the faithful;
and what example is being set for young people
who are preparing for marriage. A
335 Ibid., 51
336 This is also the case with regard to
sacramental discipline, since discernment can recognize that in a particular
situation no grave fault exists. In such cases, what is found in another
document applies: cf. Evangelii Gaudium (24
November 2013), 44 and 47: AAS 105 (2013), 1038-1040.
sincere reflection can strengthen trust in the mercy of God which is not denied anyone”.337 What we are
speaking of is a process of accompaniment and
discernment which “guides
the faithful to an
awareness of their situation before God. Con-
versation with the priest, in the internal
forum, contributes to the formation
of a correct judg- ment on what hinders
the possibility of a full- er participation in the life of the
Church and on what steps can foster it and make it grow. Given that gradualness is not in the law itself (cf. Familiaris Consortio, 34), this discernment can never
prescind from the Gospel demands of truth and charity, as proposed by the Church.
For this discernment to
happen, the following conditions must neces- sarily be present: humility, discretion and love for
the Church and her teaching, in a sincere search for God’s will and a desire to make a more per- fect response to it”.338 These attitudes
are essen- tial for
avoiding the grave danger of misunder- standings, such as the notion that any
priest can quickly grant “exceptions”, or that some people can obtain
sacramental privileges in exchange for favours.
When a responsible and tactful person, who does not presume to put his
or her own de- sires ahead of the
common good of the Church, meets with a pastor capable of acknowledging the
seriousness of the matter before him, there can be no risk that a specific discernment may
337 Relatio Finalis 2015, 85.
338 Ibid., 86
lead people to think that the
Church maintains a double standard.
miTiGaTinG facTors
in pasToraL discernmenT
301. For
an adequate understanding of the possibility
and need of special discernment in certain “irregular” situations, one thing
must always be taken into account, lest anyone think that the demands of the
Gospel are in any way being
compromised. The Church possesses a solid body of reflection concerning
mitigating factors and situations. Hence it is can no longer simply be said
that all those in any “irregular” situation are living
in a state of mortal sin and are
deprived of sanctifying grace. More is involved here than mere ignorance of the
rule. A subject may know full well the rule, yet have great diffi- culty in understanding “its inherent values”,339 or be in a concrete
situation which does not allow him or her to act differently and decide other-
wise without further sin. As the Synod Fathers put it, “factors may exist which limit the ability to make a decision”.340 Saint Thomas
Aquinas him- self recognized
that someone may possess grace and charity, yet
not be able to exercise any one of the virtues well;341 in
other words,
although someone may
possess all the
infused moral
339 John pauL II, Apostolic Exhortation
Familiaris Consortio (22 November 1981),
33: AAS 74 (1982), 121.
340 Relatio Finalis 2015, 51.
341 Cf. Summa Theologiae I-II, q. 65, art. 3 ad 2; De Malo,
p.
2, art. 2.
virtues, he does not clearly manifest
the existence of one of them,
because the outward practice of that virtue is rendered difficult: “Certain
saints are said not to possess certain virtues, in so far as they experience
difficulty in the acts of those virtues, even though they have the habits of all the virtues”.342
302. The Catechism of the
Catholic Church clearly mentions these factors: “imputability and
responsibility for an action can be diminished or even nullified by ignorance, inadvertence, duress,
fear, habit, inordinate attachments, and other psychological or social factors”.343 In
another paragraph, the Catechism refers
once again to circumstances which mitigate moral responsibil- ity, and mentions at length “affective immaturity, force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety
or other psychological or social factors that less- en or even
extenuate moral culpability”.344 For this reason, a negative judgment about
an objec- tive situation does not
imply a judgment about the
imputability or culpability
of the person
342 Ibid., ad 3.
343 No. 1735.
344 Ibid., 2352; conGreGaTion for The docTrine of The
faiTh, Declaration on Euthanasia Iura et Bona (5 May 1980), II: AAS 72
(1980), 546; John Paul II, in his
critique of the category of “fundamental option”,
recognized that “doubtless there can occur situations which are very complex and obscure from
a psychological viewpoint, and which have
an influence on the sinner’s
subjective culpability” (Apostolic Exhortation Reconciliatio
et Paenitentia [2 December 1984],
17: AAS 77 [1985], 223).
involved.345 On the basis of
these convictions, I
consider very fitting what many Synod Fa- thers
wanted to affirm: “Under certain circum- stances people find it very difficult
to act differ- ently. Therefore,
while upholding a general rule, it is necessary to recognize that
responsibility with respect to certain actions
or decisions is not
the same in all cases. Pastoral discernment,
while taking into account a person’s
properly formed conscience, must take responsibility for these sit- uations. Even the consequences of
actions taken are not necessarily the same in all
cases”.346
303.
Recognizing the
influence of such con- crete factors, we can add that individual con- science
needs to be better incorporated into the Church’s
praxis in certain situations which do not objectively embody our
understanding of marriage. Naturally, every
effort should be made to encourage the development of an enlightened
conscience, formed and guided by the responsi- ble and serious discernment of one’s pastor, and to encourage
an ever greater trust in God’s grace.
Yet conscience can do more than
recognize that a given situation
does not correspond objectively to the overall demands of the Gospel. It can also recognize with sincerity and honesty
what for now is the most generous response
which
345 Cf. ponTificaL counciL for LeGisLaTive TexTs, Declaration Concerning the Admission to Holy Communion of Faithful Who are Divorced and
Remarried (24 June 2000),
2.
346
Relatio
Finalis 2015, 85.
can be given to God, and come to see with a cer- tain moral security that it is what
God himself is asking amid the concrete
complexity of one’s limits, while
yet not fully the objective ideal. In any event, let us recall that this
discernment is dynamic; it must remain ever open to new stages of growth and to new decisions which can ena- ble the
ideal to be more fully realized.
ruLes and
discernmenT
304. It is reductive
simply to consider
whether or not an individual’s actions correspond to a general
law or rule, because that is
not enough to discern and ensure full fidelity to God in the concrete life of a human being. I earnestly ask that we always recall a teaching
of Saint Thomas Aquinas and learn to incorporate it in our pastoral
discernment: “Although there
is necessity in the general princi- ples, the more we descend
to matters of detail, the
more frequently we encounter defects… In mat- ters of action, truth or practical
rectitude is not the same for all,
as to matters of detail, but only as to the general principles; and where there is the
same rectitude in matters of detail,
it is not equally known to all… The principle will be found to fail,
according as we descend further into detail”.347 It is true that general rules set forth a good which can
never be disregarded or neglected, but in their
formulation they cannot provide absolutely for all
347 Summa Theologiae,
I-II, q. 94, art. 4.
particular situations. At the same
time, it must be
said that, precisely for that
reason, what is part of a practical discernment in particular circumstanc- es cannot be elevated to the level of
a rule. That would not only lead to an intolerable casuistry, but would endanger
the very values which must be preserved with special
care.348
305. For
this reason, a pastor cannot feel that it is
enough simply to apply moral laws to those living in “irregular” situations, as
if they were stones to throw at people’s
lives. This would be- speak the closed heart of one used to hiding be-
hind the Church’s teachings, “sitting
on the chair of Moses and judging at
times with superiority and superficiality difficult cases and wounded families”.349 Along these
same
lines, the Inter-
national Theological Commission has noted that “natural law could not be presented as an already established set of rules that
impose themselves a priori on the
moral subject; rather, it is a source of objective inspiration for the deeply
person- al process of
making decisions”.350 Because of
348 In another text, referring to
the general knowledge of the rule and the particular knowledge of practical
discernment, Saint Thomas states that “if only one of the two is present, it is preferable that it
be the knowledge of the particular reality,
which is closer to the act”: Sententia
libri Ethicorum, VI, 6 (ed. Leonina, t. XLVII, 354.)
349 Address
for the Conclusion of the Fourteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of
Bishops (24 October 2015): L’Osservatore
Romano, 26-27 October 2015, p. 13.
350 inTernaTionaL TheoLoGicaL commission, In Search of a Universal Ethic:
A New Look at Natural
Law (2009), 59.
forms of conditioning and
mitigating factors, it is possible that
in an objective situation of sin – which may not be subjectively culpable, or
fully such – a person can be living in God’s
grace, can love and can also
grow in the life of grace and charity, while
receiving the Church’s help to this
end.351 Discernment must help to find possible
ways of responding to God and growing in the midst of limits. By thinking that
everything is black and white, we sometimes close off the way of grace and of growth, and discourage
paths of sanctification which give glory
to God. Let us re- member that “a
small step, in the midst of great human limitations, can be more pleasing to
God than a life which appears outwardly in order, but moves through the day without confronting
great
difficulties”.352 The practical
pastoral care of ministers and of communities must
not fail to embrace this reality.
306. In every situation,
when dealing with those who have difficulties
in living God’s law to the full, the invitation to pursue the via caritatis
must be clearly heard. Fraternal
charity is the
351 In certain cases, this can
include the help of the sacraments. Hence, “I want to remind priests that the
confessional must not be a torture chamber, but rather an encounter with the
Lord’s mercy” (Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii
Gaudium [24 November 2013], 44: AAS 105 [2013], 1038). I would also point
out that the Eucharist “is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine
and nourishment for the weak” (ibid.,
47: 1039).
352 Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii
Gaudium (24 November 2013), 44: AAS 105
(2013), 1038-1039.
first law of Christians (cf. Jn 15:12; Gal 5:14). Let us not
forget the reassuring words of Scripture: “Maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Pet 4:8); “Atone for your sins with righteousness, and your iniq- uities
with mercy to the oppressed, so that your prosperity may be prolonged” (Dan 4:24[27]); “As water extinguishes a blazing fire, so almsgiv- ing atones for
sins” (Sir 3:30). This is also what
Saint Augustine teaches: “Just as, at
the threat of a fire, we would run for
water to extinguish it… so too, if
the flame of sin rises from our chaff and we are troubled, if the chance to
perform a work of mercy is offered us, let us rejoice in it, as if it were a fountain offered us to
extinguish the blaze”.353
The LoGic of
pasToraL mercy
307. In order to avoid all misunderstanding, I would point
out that in no way must the Church
desist from proposing the full ideal of marriage, God’s plan in all its grandeur: “Young
people who are baptized should be encouraged to un- derstand that the
sacrament of marriage can en- rich their prospects of love and that they can be sustained by the grace of Christ in
the sacrament and by the possibility
of participating fully in the
353 De
Catechizandis Rudibus, I, 14, 22: PL 40, 327; cf. Apostolic
Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (24
November 2013), 194: AAS 105 (2013), 1101.
life of the Church”.354 A lukewarm attitude, any kind of relativism, or an undue
reticence in pro- posing that ideal, would be a lack of fidelity to the Gospel
and also of love on the part of the
Church for young people themselves. To show
understanding in the face of exceptional situa- tions never implies dimming the light of the fuller ideal, or proposing less than what Jesus offers to the
human being. Today, more important than the pastoral care of failures is the
pastoral effort to strengthen marriages and thus to prevent their breakdown.
308. At the same time,
from our awareness of the weight of mitigating circumstances – psycho- logical,
historical and even biological – it follows that “without detracting from the
evangelical ideal, there is a need to accompany with mer- cy and patience the eventual stages of
personal growth as these progressively appear”, making room for “the Lord’s mercy, which spurs us on to do our best”.355 I understand those who pre-
fer a more rigorous pastoral care which leaves no room for confusion. But I
sincerely believe that Jesus wants a Church attentive to the good- ness 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
354
Relatio Synodi
2014, 26.
shoes get soiled by the mud
of the street”.356 The
Church’s pastors, in proposing to the
faith- ful the full ideal of the Gospel and the Church’s teaching, must also help them to treat the weak with
compassion, avoiding aggravation or undu- ly harsh or hasty judgements. The
Gospel itself tells us not to judge or condemn (cf. Mt 7:1; Lk 6:37). Jesus “expects us to stop looking for those
personal or communal niches which shelter us from the maelstrom of human
misfortune, and instead to enter into the reality of other peo- ple’s lives and to know the power of
tenderness. Whenever we do so, our
lives become wonder- fully complicated”.357
309. It is providential
that these reflections take place in the context of a Holy Year devoted to mercy, because also in the variety of situations affecting families “the Church is commissioned to
proclaim the mercy of God, the beating heart of the Gospel, which in its own way must pen- etrate the mind and heart of
every person. The Bride of Christ must pattern her behaviour after the Son of
God who goes out to everyone with- out exception”.358 She knows that Jesus himself is the shepherd of the hundred,
not just of the ninety-nine. He loves them all. On the basis of this
realization, it will become possible for “the
356 Ibid., 45.
357 Ibid., 270.
358
Bull Misericordiae
Vultus (11 April 2015), 12: AAS 107 (2015): 407.
balm of mercy to reach everyone,
believers and those far away, as a sign that the kingdom of God
is already present in our midst”.359
310. We
cannot forget that “mercy is not only the working
of the Father; it becomes a criterion
for knowing who his true children
are. In a word, we are
called to show mercy because
mercy was first shown to us”.360 This is not sheer romanticism or a lukewarm response to God’s love,
which al- ways seeks what is best for us,
for “mercy is the very foundation of the Church’s life. All of her pastoral activity should be caught up
in the ten- derness which she shows to believers; nothing in her preaching and her witness to the
world can be lacking in mercy”.361 It is true that at times “we act as arbiters of grace rather
than its facili- tators. But the Church is not a tollhouse; it is the house of the Father, where there is a place for everyone, with
all their problems”.362
311. The teaching of moral
theology should not fail to incorporate these considerations, for although it
is quite true that concern must be shown for the integrity of the Church’s moral teaching, special care
should always be shown to emphasize and encourage the highest and most
359 Ibid., 5: 402.
360 Ibid., 9: 405.
361 Ibid., 10: 406.
central values of the Gospel,363 particularly the pri- macy
of charity as a response to the completely gratuitous offer of God’s
love. At times we find it
hard to make room for God’s unconditional
love in our pastoral
activity.364 We put so many conditions on mercy that we empty it
of its con- crete meaning and real significance. That is the worst way of watering down the Gospel. It is
true, for example, that mercy does not exclude justice and truth, but first and
foremost we have to say that mercy
is the fullness of justice and the most radiant manifestation of God’s truth. For this reason,
we should always
consider “inad- equate any
theological conception which in the end puts in doubt the omnipotence of God
and, especially, his mercy”.365
312. This offers us a
framework and a setting which help us avoid
a cold bureaucratic morality in dealing with more sensitive issues.
Instead, it sets us in the context of a
pastoral discernment
363 Cf. ibid., 36-37: AAS 105 (2013), 1035.
364 Perhaps out of a certain scrupulosity,
concealed beneath a zeal for fidelity to the truth, some priests demand of
penitents a purpose of amendment so
lacking in nuance that it causes mercy
to be obscured by the pursuit of a supposedly pure justice. For this reason, it is helpful to recall
the teaching of Saint John Paul II,
who stated that the possibility of a new fall “should not prejudice the
authenticity of the resolution” (Letter
to Cardinal William W. Baum on the
occasion of the Course on the Internal Forum
organized by the Apostolic Penitentiary [22 March 1996], 5: Insegnamenti XIX/1 [1996], 589).
365 inTernaTionaL TheoLoGicaL commission, The
Hope of Salvation for
Infants Who Die Without
Being Baptized (19 April 2007), 2.
filled with merciful love, which is ever ready to understand, forgive,
accompany, hope,
and above all integrate. That is the mindset which should prevail in
the Church and lead us to “open our hearts to those living on the outermost fringes
of society”.366 I encourage the faithful who find themselves
in complicated situations to speak confidently with their pastors or with other
lay people whose lives are committed to the Lord. They may not always encounter
in them a con- firmation of their own ideas or desires, but they will surely
receive some light to help them better
understand their situation and discover a path to personal growth. I also
encourage the Church’s pastors
to listen to them with sensitivity and seren- ity,
with a sincere desire to understand their plight and their
point of view, in order to help
them live better lives
and to recognize their proper place
in the Church.
366 Bull Misericordiae Vultus (11 April 2015), 15: AAS 107 (2015), 409.
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