AMORIS LAETITIA AND CONSCIENCE

Authors

  • Charles E Curran Southern Methodist University, USA

Keywords:

Amoris laetitia, Conscience, Divorced and Remarried, Gradualism Internal Forum, Pope Francis

Abstract

This article discusses Amoris laetitia and conscience in light of chapter 8 of the pastoral exhortation dealing with integrating divorced and remarried Catholics more fully into the Catholic Church. The primary focus of the article is on the possibility of communion for some divorced and remarried Catholics. The essay develops in three parts —the remote context beginning 50 years ago involving the pertinent literature on participation of some divorced and remarried Catholics in the Eucharistic banquet based on the decision of conscience in the internal forum; the present context referring to earlier statements by Pope Francis and the two Synods of 2014 and 2015; and finally Amoris laetitia itself. Amoris laetitia insists on the central role of conscience in decisions made by individuals who because of psychological or sociological circumstances cannot now fulfil the objective demands of the norm or law. Pope Francis in Amoris laetitia, however, does not explicitly accept or even mention the specific issue of communion for some divorced and remarried; however, there are indications that Pope Francis himself
favours the possibility of Communion for some divorced and remarried. Meanwhile, he is obviously content to live with the doubts, differences, and even confusion about this issue in the life of the Church.

Author Biography

Charles E Curran, Southern Methodist University, USA

Charles E. Curran is the Elizabeth Scurlock University Professor of Human Values at Southern Methodist University. He has authored and edited more than 50 books in the area of moral theology. Curran has served as president of three national professional societies — the American Theological Society, the Catholic Theological Society of American, and the Society of Christian Ethics. He was the first recipient of the John Courtney Murray Award for distinguished achievement in theology given by the Catholic Theological Society of America. The College Theology Society gave him its Presidential Award for a lifetime of scholarly achievements in moral theology. Recently, the Society of Christian Ethics gave him its Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Email: ccurran@mail.smu.edu

References

“Pope Francis’ First Angelus Address,” Catholic World Report, March 17, 2013 at http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Blog/2091/full_text_pope_francis_first_angelus_address.aspx.

“The Problem of Second Marriage: An Interim Pastoral Statement by the Study Committee Commissioned by the Board of Directors of the Catholic Theological Society of America,” Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America 27 (1972).

B. Peters, T. Beemer, and C. van der Poel, “Co-Habitation in ‘Marital State of Mind,’” The Homiletic and Pastoral Review 66 (1965-66).

Bernard Häring, “A Theological Evaluation,” in The Morality of Abortion: Ethical and Historical Perspectives, ed. John T. Noonan, Jr., Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1970.

Canon 1141, in New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law, ed. John P. Beal, James A. Coriden, and Thomas J. Green, New York: Paulist, 2000.

Charles E. Curran, “Divorce: Doctrine et pratique catholique aux États Unis,” Recherche de Science Religieuse 61 (1973).

Charles E. Curran, New Perspectives in Moral Theology, Notre Dame, IN: Fides, 1974.

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, “Concerning the Reception of Holy Community by Divorced-and-Remarried Members of the Faithful,” Origins 24 (1994).

Crux staff, “Excerpts from the Synod’s Final Report,” Crux, October 24, 2015, at https://cruxnow.com/church/2015/10/24/excerpts-from-the-synods-final-report/.

Inés San Martin, “Pope Okays Argentine Doc on Communion for Divorced and Remarried,” Crux, September 12, 2016, at https://cruxnow.com/globalchurch/2016/09/12/pope-okays-argentine-doc-communion-divorced-remarried/.

James Provost, “Intolerable Marriage Situations Revisited,” Jurist 40 (1980).

James Provost, “Intolerable Marriages: A Second Decade,” Jurist 50 (1990).

Jim Yardley and Elizabetta Povoledo, “Pope Francis Announces Change for Easier Marriage Annulments,” New York Times, September 8, 2015.

John Krol, “Good Conscience Procedures,” Origins 2 (1972).

John L. Allen, “The Synod’s Key Twist: Sudden Return of Gradualism,” Crux, October 8, 2014, at www.cruxnow.com.

Josef Ratzinger, “Zur Frage nach der Unauflöslichkeit der Ehe: Bemerkungen zum dogmengeshichtlichen Befund und zu seiner gegenwärtigen Bedeutung,” in Ehe und Ehescheidung: Diskussion unter Christen, München: Kösel-Verlag, 1972.

Kenneth R. Himes and James A. Coriden, “Pastoral Care of the Divorced and Remarried,” Theological Studies 51 (1996).

Ladislas Örsy, “Intolerable Marriage Situations: Conflict between External and Internal Forum,” Jurist 30 (1970).

Lawrence Wrenn, The Invalid Marriage, Washington, DC: Canon Law Society of America, 1998.

Oskar Saier, Karl Lehmann, and Walter Kasper, “Pastoral Ministry: The Divorced and Remarried,” Origins 23 (1994).

Oskar Saier, Karl Lehmann, and Walter Kasper, “Response to the Vatican Letter,” Origins 24 (1994).

Pope Francis with Antonio Spadaro, My Door is Always Open: A Conversation on Faith, Hope, and the Church in a Time of Change, London: Bloomsbury, 2014.

Pope Francis, Apostolic Exhortation: Amoris Laetitia: On Love and the Family, Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor Publishing, 2016.

Pope Francis, Apostolic Exhortation: Evangelii Gaudium, at http://w2.vatican.va.

Pope John Paul II, The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World: Familiaris Consortio, Boston, MA: St Paul Editions, 1981.

Richard A. McCormick, Notes on Moral Theology 1965-1980, Washington, DC: University Press of America, 1981.

Samuel J. Thomas, “Dissent and Due Process after Vatican II: An Early Case Study in American Catholic Leadership,” U.S. Catholic Historian 17, n. 4 (1999).

Sean Wales, “Communion for the Divorced and Remarried?” Asian Horizons 7, n. 1 (March 2013).

Thomas D. Williams, “Five Catholic Cardinals Launch Book Opposing Marriage Reform,” Breitbart, September 18, 2014, at http://www.breitbart.com/nationalsecurity/2014/09/18/Five-Catholic-Cardinals-Launch-Book-Opposing-Marriage-Reform/.

Thomas Reese, “How the Synod Process is Different under Pope Francis,” National Catholic Reporter, October 17, 2014, at http://ncronline.org.

Downloads

Published

2016-12-31

How to Cite

Curran, C. E. (2016). AMORIS LAETITIA AND CONSCIENCE. Asian Horizons, 10(04), 693–706. Retrieved from https://dvkjournals.in/index.php/ah/article/view/2145