Pope Leo has opened his biggest gathering of Catholic leaders so far, bringing together about 150 bishops from more than 115 countries for a week-long Vatican meeting expected to confront some of the Church’s most sensitive questions involving divorced and remarried Catholics and its treatment of LGBT members.
The assembly is focused broadly on Catholic teaching on family life. Questions involving remarried Catholics and LGBT members are expected to surface during the discussions, although neither issue is formally listed on the agenda. There is no indication from the meeting that the Vatican is considering recognition of same-sex marriage.
Leo opened the gathering by urging bishops to find renewed ways of supporting modern families and to approach complicated situations with greater pastoral attention.
The meeting marks the 10th anniversary of Amoris Laetitia, the landmark 2016 document issued by the late Pope Francis that called for a more compassionate approach toward Catholics living in family situations that do not fully conform to Church teaching.
Current Catholic teaching continues to recognize a first valid marriage unless it is declared null. Catholics who divorce and enter a new civil marriage can therefore face restrictions on receiving Communion, although Francis opened room for greater pastoral discernment in individual cases and wrote that some could receive “the help of the sacraments.”
Leo did not directly address Communion for remarried Catholics in his opening remarks, but told Church leaders they must “recognise the work of grace even in situations marked by limits, wounds and apparent failure.”
The gathering could also test how Leo intends to approach LGBT Catholics after Francis repeatedly called for greater welcome and pastoral care while leaving Catholic doctrine on marriage unchanged.
Eleven married Catholic lay couples are also taking part in the assembly and are expected to share testimony about their family lives, giving bishops direct accounts as they discuss how Church teaching is applied outside the Vatican
