The Principle of Mercy in Family Pastoral Care According to the Teaching of Pope Francis

Wiesław Andrzej Przygoda

Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2430-719X

Abstract

The crisis of marriage and family in Western culture provides the background for the research. The aim of the study is to apply the principle of mercy to the pastoral care of families. The method of analyzing the content of the teaching of Pope Francis is used, especially his apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia. The results obtained in the analysis constitute the outline of a new family pastoral strategy. The analysis concludes that mercy is the guiding principle in family pastoral care in the current socio-cultural conditions. This principle should apply in the relationship between the pastor and the spouses, in the relationship of the spouses with respect to each other and their children, and between the spouses and their families relating to other spouses and families.

Keywords:

marriage, family, pastoral care of families, mercy, Pope Francis, Amoris laetitia