The Church’s concern about marriage and family in the light of the most recently documents of the Polish Episcopate Conference

Abstract

Signed by Pope Francis in the 2016 year, the apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia is the fruit of the reflection of two synods of bishops. The exhortation is undoubtedly the continuation of teaching the Church’s Magisterium in the field of marriage and the family. There is no doubt, therefore, that Pope Francis in the exhortation Amoris laetitia does not undermine the teaching of his predecessors, clearly however, it indicates the necessity of the Church’s unity of doctrine and action which, however, excludes the existence of different ways of interpreting certain aspects of teaching.

The fulfillment of the universal Church in accordance with the spirit of Varicanum II and according to indications of post-conciliar universal legislation takes place in particular particular Churches, thus the process of universal legislation reception and thus the life of individual particular Churches (dioceses) or local Church. The Conference of the Polish Episcopate, like the bishops of other countries, issued a number of legal norms, adapting the provisions of the general law to the needs of local churches. An important place in the legislative activity of the Polish Episcopate Conference is taken up by the provisions concerning marriage and the family. After the end of the Second Vatican Council, the bishops issued several documents regarding the preparation for marriage and pastoral care of families. Analyzing the documents of the Polish Episcopate, one can easily see that they refer to the documents of the Holy See in their content, taking into account the realities of the Church’s life in Poland. With the passage of time, documents are becoming more and more extensive, moving more and more pastoral issues. The youngest document devoted to the pastoral care of families is the Pastoral Guidelines for the Exhortation of Amoris laetitia. Following the instructions of Pope Francis, Polish bishops point to the need to develop a new Directory for the Pastoral Care of Families for the Church in Poland in the future. On the basis of them it will be possible to prepare diocesan or metropolitan executive instructions and to establish service centers for marriage and family.