At some point in the future I'd like to do record some fulsome thoughts on Pope Francis' 12 years as Pope. Overall, I could count the things I liked on one hand. But today I want to look at one particular quirk of the document Amoris Laetitia... and the subtle correction that Pope Leo seemed to give to it.
John Paul II Being Great:
Imagine I said to you:
"Under ideal conditions, my car can get 35 mpg."
Now, the way we'd usually interpret that is that under rare, specifically crafted circumstances my car gets 35mpg. But to expect 35mpg on a regular basis would be absurd. In other words, an "ideal" is a target that exists in our minds, but hardly ever in reality.
In his encyclical Veritatis Splendor (the splendor of truth), Pope John Paul II said we should not imagine Christian morality as an "ideal". He said:
Only in the mystery of Christ's Redemption do we discover the "concrete" possibilities of man. "It would be a very serious error to conclude... that the Church's teaching is essentially only an "ideal" which must then be adapted, proportioned, graduated to the so-called concrete possibilities of man, according to a "balancing of the goods in question". But what are the "concrete possibilities of man" ? And of which man are we speaking? Of man dominated by lust or of man redeemed by Christ?
This is what is at stake: the reality of Christ's redemption. Christ has redeemed us! This means that he has given us the possibility of realizing the entire truth of our being; he has set our freedom free from the domination of concupiscence. And if redeemed man still sins, this is not due to an imperfection of Christ's redemptive act, but to man's will not to avail himself of the grace which flows from that act. - Veritatis Splendor 103
So let's keep that in mind. Pope John Paul II rejected the idea that life in the spirit is an ideal, as if the Holy Spirit doesn't really give us the grace to be saints. As if sin and compromise is the "concrete reality" and holiness is unrealistic.
Not Ideal:
That idea was seemingly called into question by Pope Francis. Back in 2016, he penned a document called Amoris Laetitia. It was a document, supposedly, about family life in the Church. One could argue its only practical effect was to sew confusion about whether the Church was going to begin admitting the divorced and remarried to communion.
One complaint that people had at the time was the document's use of the word "ideal". Because it seemed to describe Christ's teaching on marriage in exactly the way Pope John Paul II said we shouldn't. Here are a few example:
Ultimately, it is easy nowadays to confuse genuine freedom with the idea that each individual can act arbitrarily, as if there were no truths, values and principles to provide guidance, and everything were possible and permissible. The ideal of marriage, marked by a commitment to exclusivity and stability, is swept aside whenever it proves inconvenient or tiresome. The fear of loneliness and the desire for stability and fidelity exist side by side with a growing fear of entrapment in a relationship that could hamper the achievement of one’s personal goals. - Amoris Laetitia, 34
We need a healthy dose of self-criticism. Then too, we often present marriage in such a way that its unitive meaning, its call to grow in love and its ideal of mutual assistance are overshadowed by an almost exclusive insistence on the duty of procreation. Nor have we always provided solid guidance to young married couples, understanding their timetables, their way of thinking and their concrete concerns. At times we have also proposed a far too abstract and almost artificial theological ideal of marriage, far removed from the concrete situations and practical possibilities of real families. This excessive idealization, especially when we have failed to inspire trust in God’s grace, has not helped to make marriage more desirable and attractive, but quite the opposite - Amoris Laetitia, 36.
Many people feel that the Church’s message on marriage and the family does not clearly reflect the preaching and attitudes of Jesus, who set forth a demanding ideal yet never failed to show compassion and closeness to the frailty of individuals like the Samaritan woman or the woman caught in adultery - Amoris Laetitia, 38
Yet conscience can do more than recognize that a given situation does not correspond objectively to the overall demands of the Gospel. It can also recognize with sincerity and honesty what for now is the most generous response which can be given to God, and come to see with a certain moral security that it is what God himself is asking amid the concrete complexity of one’s limits, while yet not fully the objective ideal. In any event, let us recall that this discernment is dynamic; it must remain ever open to new stages of growth and to new decisions which can enable the ideal to be more fully realized. - Amoris Laetitia, 303
Over and over again, the document refers to the objective demands of married life as an "ideal" - even invoking the excuse of "concrete complexity" to explain why the ideal cannot be met.
Peter Speaks Through Leo!!
Which is why Pope Leo 14th's homily the other day caught my eye. His homily addressed that same topic of Catholic married life. Toward the end, he pointed to the examples of certain married couples who were canonized together. And then he said:
By pointing to [those married saints] as exemplary witnesses of married life, the Church tells us that today’s world needs the marriage covenant in order to know and accept God’s love and to defeat, thanks to its unifying and reconciling power, the forces that break down relationships and societies. For this reason, with a heart filled with gratitude and hope, I would remind all married couples that marriage is not an ideal but the measure of true love between a man and a woman: a love that is total, faithful, and fruitful. This love makes you one flesh and enables you, in the image of God, to bestow the gift of life. - Homily of Pope Leo XIV on Jubilee for Families, Children, Grandparents, and the Elderly, June 1 2025
Do you see what I see? It seems to me that Pope Leo has made a subtle corrective toward Amoris Laetitia. And I for one, am glad to see it.
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