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Document Details :

Title: Amoris Laetitia
Subtitle: Eine kirchenrechtliche Lektüre
Author(s): GRAULICH, Markus
Journal: Marriage, Families & Spirituality
Volume: 22    Issue: 2   Date: 2016   
Pages: 182-201
DOI: 10.2143/INT.22.2.3194500

Abstract :
Pope Francis’ Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris laetitia is an act of the papal magisterium that brings together the results of the two General Assemblies of the Synod of Bishops on marriage and the family. From the perspective of a canon lawyer, the first question concerns the binding character and the general character of this document, in the intention of the Pope. One must also ask how the Pope deals with canon law in Amoris laetitia. It is indeed mentioned in a few passages, but it is not systematically integrated into the text, and this means that some potential remains unrecognized and unused. Finally, the present article discusses some themes of Amoris laetitia that have a relevance to canon law: marriage preparation, the accompaniment of married couples, interchurch and inter-religious marriages, the admission to baptism in complicated marital situations, the civil marriage of Catholics, and the question of how to deal with divorced and remarried persons. The author notes, on the one hand, that a stronger integration of the norms of canon law would have offered a number of solutions. On the other hand, the Apostolic Exhortation is also understood as a challenge to canon law to develop further the norms in the area of marriage and the family.

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