A German thinker’s wisdom on marriage for the Church ten years after ‘Amoris Laetitia’

Pope Leo XIV will meet with the presidents of bishops' conferences, heads of Eastern Catholic Churches, and various families in Rome this October. The gathering aims to discuss how to proclaim the Gospel to families facing rapid modern changes.

The meeting coincides with the tenth anniversary of Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia. Pope Leo XIV has expanded the agenda to include the global decline in marriage and childbearing among young adults.

The discussions follow unresolved questions regarding how priests should accompany divorced and civilly remarried couples. Specifically, the Church continues to address whether such individuals may receive the Eucharist while maintaining the teaching on the indissolubility of marriage. The meeting will also address how pastors should handle case-by-case discernment following previous remarks regarding the primacy of conscience and the possibility that some marriages are null due to ignorance.