Vatican Gathers World's Bishops to Mark Ten Years of Teaching on Family Life
Presidents of the Catholic Church's bishops conferences and heads of Eastern Catholic churches met in Rome from October 7 to 14, a gathering Pope Leo XIV convened to mark the tenth anniversary of Amoris Laetitia, the Church document on marriage and family life. Participants heard testimony from eleven married couples from five continents about the difficulty of passing on the faith to children in increasingly secular societies. Jesuit Father Giacomo Costa, who helped organize the meeting, said accompaniment of struggling families was one of the week's recurring themes.
The gathering closed on October 14 without releasing its final report, which Leo asked to keep private until he can review it himself, a request he made before undergoing lung surgery days earlier. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle presided at the closing Mass in the pope's place, reading a homily Leo had prepared in advance that said the world has no future without strong families. Archbishop Charles Scicluna said he left wanting a renewed commitment to put the family at the center of the Church's pastoral mission.
