The meaning of Amoris
laetitia according to Pope Francis
John R. T. Lamont
The teaching
of the apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia has been the subject of a
great deal of debate since the promulgation of that document. Various
interpretations of this teaching have been presented, and the differing
interpretations have been used both to denounce the document as heretical and
to defend it as in harmony with the teaching of the Church. Pope Francis has
recently acted to clarify the meaning of the most contentious section of Amoris
laetitia through a statement in the October 2017 issue of the Acta
apostolic sedis, the journal that publishes the official acts of the Holy
See (the title of the journal is generally abbreviated as AAS). The meaning and
consequences of this clarification are of the first importance, and need to be
carefully and accurately examined.
The meaning and authority of the AAS statement
The statement
in the AAS has three components: i) a letter from Pope Francis to the bishops
of the Buenos Aires region concerning their pastoral degree on the application
of Chapter 8 of Amoris laetitia, ii) the pastoral decree itself, and
iii) a statement by Cardinal Parolin, the Secretary of State, asserting that
the Supreme Pontiff has ordered the publication of the two preceding components
in the AAS as statements of the authentic magisterium. The letter from Pope
Francis is given the title of ‘Apostolic letter’ in the AAS statement, a title
it did not bear when originally issued.
The statement
in the AAS has a high degree of authority. The term ‘authentic magisterium’ is
explained in para. 25 of the dogmatic constitution Lumen gentium, and in
canon 752 of the Latin Code of Canon Law. The exercise of the authentic
magisterium is not infallible, and hence does not require the assent of faith
from Catholics, but it does require the religious submission of mind and will,
a submission that includes sincere adherence to the assertions being taught.
The covering statement by Cardinal Parolin, the publication of the above
documents in the AAS at the command of the Pope, and the new title of
‘Apostolic letter’ given to Pope Francis’s original letter to the Buenos Aires
bishops, confirm that the relevant contents of the documents are teachings of
the authentic magisterium of the Catholic Church. This is a rather roundabout
way of conveying an official teaching of the Church, since this teaching is given in a letter about a
letter about an apostolic exhortation, but this form of expression is not
entirely without precedent or unsuitable in itself. There are precedents for a
Pope issuing a teaching by endorsing a statement previously made by bishops. It
does however mean that the statement needs to be carefully analyzed in order to
identify the content of the teaching it conveys.
