From Familiaris Consortio to Amoris Laetitia: Pope Francis’ Renewed Vision of the Pastoral Care of Families

Abstract

The anthropological, cultural, social and religious changes taking place over the last decades have strongly influenced the shape of marriage and family life. By reading “the signs of the times,” the Church undertakes a reflection on issues related to marriage and the family. In the dimension of the Catholic Church, this reflection is made especially during synods of bishops which yield apostolic exhortations presenting renewed visions of pastoral care. Regarding marriage and family, they are found in John Paul II’s exhortation Familiaris Consortio and Francis’ exhortation Amoris Laetitia. This article addresses the issue connected with mutual relationships between the pastoral concepts contained in these documents. Its presentation revolves around three parts which correspond to the methodology of pastoral-theological reflection: evangelical discernment of the situation of marriage and the family (cairological premise), establishment of pastoral paradigms (criteriological premise) and directions of pastoral solutions (pastoral-praxeological conclusion). The article shows both Amoris Laetitia’s continuation of the concept of pastoral care of families presented in Familiaris Consortio and the originality of thoughts and change of pastoral paradigms in the teaching of Pope Francis.