The Joy of Love

Amoris Laetitia (Latin for The Joy of Love) is the post-synodal apostolic exhortation by Pope Francis. Dated 19 March 2016 and released on 8 April 2016. It follows the Synods on the Family held in 2014 and 2015.

Its introduction and nine chapters comprise 325 numbered paragraphs. Quotations are drawn from earlier popes, documents of the Second Vatican Council and regional bishops' conferences, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.. It includes what is thought to be the first reference to a film in a papal document, Babette's Feast (1987), along with references to works by Jorge Luis Borges, Octavio Paz, Antonin Sertillanges, Gabriel Marcel, and Mario Benedetti.


"The 256-page document — known as an apostolic exhortation and titled “Amoris Laetitia,” Latin for “The Joy of Love” — calls for priests to welcome single parents, gay people and unmarried straight couples who are living together." — Jim Yardley and Laurie Goodstein — The New York Times 


"In his first major teaching on family issues, Pope Francis advances the power of local bishops to include divorced and remarried Catholics in church life, perhaps even letting them celebrate the Eucharist, while largely sidestepping hot-button social issues like gay marriage and married clergy." — Elizabeth Dias — TIME


The Joy of Love has an Introduction and 9 Chapters:

INTRODUCTION:

CHAPTER ONE: In the Light of the Word

CHAPTER TWO: The Experiences and Challenges of Families

CHAPTER THREE: Looking to Jesus, The Vocation of the Family

CHAPTER FOUR: Love in Marriage

CHAPTER FIVE: Love Made Fruitful

CHAPTER SIX: Some Pastoral Perspectives

CHAPTER SEVEN: Towards a Better Education of Children

CHAPTER EIGHT: Accompanying, Discerning and Integrating Weakness

CHAPTER NINE: The Spirituality of Marriage and the Family