of Cardinal Ennio Antonelli

Amoris Laetitia has had opposing interpretations among pastors, theologians, and social communication workers. The question arises spontaneously: with respect to traditional doctrine and practice (in particular with respect to the Familiaris Consortio of Saint John Paul II) is there continuity, rupture, or novelty in the continuity?

The most discussed chapter is the eighth, entitled "Accompanying, discerning and integrating fragility" (nn. 291-312). These are irregular situations; but the Pope does not like this word (cf. Catechesis 24 June 2015); he prefers to talk about «situations of fragility or imperfection» (AL, 296). He considers existential poverty, in particular «solitude, the result of the absence of God in people's lives and the fragility of relationships» (AL, 43), a form of poverty more serious than economic poverty (A bit like Mother Teresa of Calcutta considered not feeling loved as the greatest poverty). We must pay attention to the wounded of life full of mercy and try to integrate them into the Church, albeit in different ways (cf. AL, 297). For example, situations of civil marriage or simple cohabitation must be transformed "into opportunities for the journey towards the fullness of marriage and family in the light of the Gospel" (AL, 294).

We need to be firm in proposing the truth and at the same time welcoming towards everyone, particularly sinners, in imitation of "Jesus, who at the same time proposed a demanding ideal and never lost his compassionate closeness to fragile people like the Samaritan woman or the woman adulteress" (AL, 38). «From the awareness of the weight of mitigating circumstances - psychological, historical and even biological - it follows that, without diminishing the value of the evangelical ideal, we must accompany with mercy and patience the possible stages of growth of people that are being built day by day, leaving room for the mercy of the Lord who stimulates us to do the best we can" (AL, 308). Nor doctrinaire rigorism; nor reckless laxity or practice divorced from the truth (cf. AL, 2; 3; 300).

First of all, I want to underline that the doctrine does not change: "Never think that we are trying to reduce the demands of the Gospel" (AL, 301). Nor does the general regulation of the sacraments change: "it is understandable that one should not expect from the Synod or from this Exhortation a new general regulation of a canonical type, applicable to all cases" (AL, 300).

In harmony with the Gospel (cf. for example Mk 10, 8-9, 11-12) and with the teaching of the Church, Amoris Laetitia reiterates that Christian marriage is indissoluble (cf. AL 292; 307), that the divorce is a serious, very widespread and worrying evil (cf. AL 246), whereas the new union of divorced people is a serious moral disorder (cf. AL, 291; 297; 305). Even divorced people who are cohabiting or remarried must be helped to acquire "awareness of the irregularity of their situation" (AL, 298). «Obviously if someone flaunts an objective sin as if it were part of the Christian ideal, or wants to impose something different from what the Church teaches, he cannot claim to do catechesis or preach, and in this sense there is something that separates him from the community. He needs to listen again to the announcement of the Gospel and the invitation to conversion" (AL, 297).

The teaching of objective truth in Amoris Laetitia remains the same as always. however, it is kept in the background as a prerequisite. The single moral subject with his conscience, his internal dispositions and his personal responsibility is placed in the foreground. For this reason it is not possible to formulate a general regulation; one can only encourage "a responsible personal and pastoral discernment of particular cases" (AL, 300).

In the past, in the time of Christianity, all attention was paid to objective moral truth, to general laws. Anyone who failed to comply with the rules was presumed to be seriously guilty. This was common evidence, peacefully shared. Divorcees in second unions caused scandal, because they endangered the indissolubility of marriage. Therefore they were marginalized by the ecclesial community as public sinners.

More recently, in times of secularization and the sexual revolution, many no longer understand the meaning of the Church's doctrine regarding marriage and sexuality. It is widely believed that sexual relations between consenting adults are legitimate, even outside of marriage. It can be hypothesized that some people live in objectively disordered situations without full subjective responsibility. It is therefore understandable that Saint John Paul II deemed it appropriate to encourage divorced and remarried people to become more involved in the life of the Church (but with the exclusion of some tasks) and to encounter the mercy of God "in other ways", different from sacramental reconciliation and the Eucharist (Reconciliatio et Poenitentia, 34), unless they undertake to observe sexual continence.

Pope Francis, in an even more advanced cultural context of secularization and pansexualism, goes even further, but along the same line. Without silencing the objective truth, he focuses attention on subjective responsibility, which can sometimes be diminished or canceled. He strongly accentuates the message of mercy and explores the possibilities of further integration into the Church, based on the principle of graduality, already enunciated by Saint John Paul II in Familiaris Consortio (FC, 34). He quotes his predecessor's formulation verbatim: «(man) knows, loves and realizes the moral good according to stages of growth»; therefore he explains: «(it involves) a gradualness in the prudential exercise of free acts in subjects who are not in a position to understand, appreciate or fully practice the objective requirements of the law» (AL, 295). The Pope, referring to Saint Thomas Aquinas, sees natural law, not as a set of rules given a priori and simply to be applied in concrete decisions, but as a source of inspiration (cf. AL, 305), so from more general (intuitive) norms, we descend to the more concrete norms and finally to individual cases (cf. AL, 304) through rational reflection and prudential judgement. Doctrine is responsible for the norms; for individual cases, discernment is required in the light of the norms and doctrine (AL, 79; 304 starting from the title “The norms and discernment”). This dynamic process can be influenced by conditions that diminish or even cancel the imputability of the disordered human act (cf. AL, 302). Ultimately they can be reduced to three typologies: ignorance of the norm, misunderstanding of the values ​​at stake, impediments perceived as the occasion of other faults (cf. AL, 301). This approach does not differ from tradition: it has always been said that to commit mortal sin not only grave matter (serious objective disorder) is required, but also full awareness and deliberate consent (cf. Catechism of St. Pius The novelty of Amoris Laetitia lies in the breadth of application given to the principle of graduality in the spiritual and pastoral discernment of individual cases. The intent is to give a more attractive and persuasive ecclesial testimony to the gospel of divine mercy, comfort spiritually wounded people, appreciate and develop, as much as possible, the seeds of good found in them.

In consideration of the dynamics of discernment, Pope Francis envisages the possibility of a progressive and fuller integration into the concrete ecclesial life of people in situations of fragility, so that they increasingly experience, and not only know, that it is beautiful to be Church (cf. AL, 299). After adequate pastoral discernment, they will be able to entrust various tasks, from which they were previously excluded, but "avoiding any occasion of scandal" (ibid.).

The personal and pastoral discernment of individual cases "should recognize that, since the degree of responsibility is not the same in all cases, the consequences or effects of a norm do not necessarily always have to be the same" (AL, 300). «Not even with regards to sacramental discipline, since discernment can recognize that in a particular situation there is no grave fault» (AL, note 336). «Due to conditioning or mitigating factors, it is possible that, within an objective situation of sin – which is not subjectively guilty or not fully so – one can live in God's grace, one can love, and one can also grow in the life of grace and charity, receiving the help of the sacraments for this purpose" (AL, note 351). The Pope therefore also opens up a window for admission to sacramental reconciliation and Eucharistic communion. But this is a hypothetical, generic and marginal suggestion. I will return to the topic later.

The Pope himself is aware that there are risks involved in moving forward on this path: «I understand those who prefer a more rigid pastoral approach that does not give rise to any confusion. But I sincerely believe that Jesus wants a Church attentive to the good that the Spirit spreads in the midst of fragility: a mother who, at the very moment in which she clearly expresses her objective teaching, does not renounce the possible good, even though she runs the risk of getting dirty with the mud from the road" (AL, 308). Risks and abuses can be foreseen both among pastors and among the faithful, for example: confusion between subjective responsibility and objective truth, between the law of gradualness and the gradualness of the law; moral relativism and situation ethics; evaluation of divorce and new union as morally legitimate; discouragement of preparation for marriage, demotivation of separated faithful, access to the Eucharist without the necessary provisions; difficulties and perplexities of priests in discernment; uncertainty and anxiety among the faithful.

There is a need for further guidance from the competent authority for prudent implementation. The path is narrow and individual cases can only really be exceptions; I will show it later in my speech.