Analysis of Papal Teachings on Law and Marriage

In both texts, then,

the two popes are concerned to maintain the

ideal,

what Pope Francis calls law, which is a gift of

God, which points out the way,

as well as to recognize that many are not

able to fully understand, appreciate, or

carry out the objective demands of the law.

Thirty-five years separate the two documents during

which the lived situation of Christian family life

went through many new developments.

As in other cases, such as in the social teaching of the

church,

when social situations are turbulent and changing

quickly,

it can be necessary to find new ways of putting

together both the objective demands of the

law, Amoris Laetitia two nine five,

and the law of gradualness, Familiaris

Consortio thirty-four.

Both Familiaris Consortio and Amoris Laetitia

try to do this in their different historical

contexts.

Let us not forget that St. Thomas Aquinas

and all the tradition that goes back to him

would say that the law of God reaches

its greatest expression in the new law,

the law of the gospel,

the grace of Jesus.

In this sense, the last chapter of Amoris

Laetitia, which focuses on the spirituality of

marriage, I quote,

a spirituality of supernatural communion,

end of quote. This chapter is so

significant because it places marriage within the

call to sanctity,

the goal of every Christian life.