Archbishop Charles Scicluna is in Rome this week attending a major Vatican gathering convened by Pope Leo XIV to mark the tenth anniversary of Amoris Laetitia, the landmark apostolic exhortation on marriage and family life.
The meeting, titled “Ten years after Amoris Laetitia: proclaiming the Gospel with families today”, brings together the heads of the Eastern Catholic Churches and the presidents of episcopal conferences from around the world. It runs from Wednesday 7 October to Wednesday 14 October in the Paul VI Hall.
Around 248 bishops are attending, alongside families and experts. On the concluding day, Pope Leo XIV will preside over Mass in St Peter’s Square.
The gathering is not a synod assembly but is being held “in a synodal spirit”, characterised by listening, prayer and discernment. Its stated purpose is to evaluate how local churches have implemented Amoris Laetitia and to chart a path forward for family ministry.
The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life and the General Secretariat of the Synod published a preparatory document to guide the meeting’s work. It outlines five core themes: families today, reality, beauty and challenges; young people and the discovery of the vocation to marriage; married life and the first years of marriage as a decisive time; accompanying and supporting families in life’s difficulties; and Christian families as subjects of the Church’s mission.
Pope Leo XIV first announced the meeting on 19 March 2026, stating his wish “to proceed, in mutual listening, to a synodal discernment on the steps to be taken in order to proclaim the Gospel to families today, in light of Amoris Laetitia“.
A decade of Amoris Laetitia
Published in 2016 by Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia (“The Joy of Love”) followed two synods on the family and represented a significant shift in pastoral approach. It emphasised mercy and accompaniment, particularly for those in “irregular” situations. The document sparked considerable internal debate, especially concerning divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.
Scicluna and then-Gozo Bishop Mario Grech issued guidelines in 2017 implementing the exhortation in Malta, opening the possibility for divorced and remarried Catholics to receive communion under certain conditions. The Maltese guidelines were seen as among the most far-reaching in the world.
Speaking on RTK103’s Għal Kulħadd programme, presented by Christine Delicata, Archbishop Scicluna reflected on what the Maltese Church has learned from the past decade. He said Church documents must be like “adequate medicine” for the situations families face, and stressed that Amoris Laetitia speaks not only of trauma but of the beauty of married life.
Archbishop Scicluna acknowledged that challenges remain unsolved. He warned against a culture that treats everything as “nothing at all”, and emphasised that fidelity in marriage has consequences not only for the couple but for their children.
He spoke of the profound difficulties children face because of separation or divorce, and praised those who continue to raise children, including stepchildren. He appealed for the Church and society to be more supportive and less judgmental, and urged young people to take the value of fidelity seriously. “It is not the wedding, but the marriage that succeeds,” he said.
The gathering follows months of preparation in which episcopal conferences were invited to reflect on the themes and listen to families in their local churches. As bishops return to their dioceses, they are expected to renew a common pastoral commitment in support of family, human life and the vocation to marriage.
Source: Newsbook.com.mt
