Archbishop Sample: Amoris Laetitia does not change Church teaching
October 10, 2016
Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon, has added his name to the list of prelates who have said that Church teaching on marriage is unchanged by Amoris Laetitia.
In a pastoral letter, Archbishop Sample says that the apostolic exhortation has been misinterpreted in order to suggest a break with perennial Church teaching. “While the exhortation does not contain any change in Church teaching regarding marriage and family life, some have used Amoris Laetitia in ways that do not correspond with the Church’s teaching tradition,” he says.
The archbishop argues against the notion that a pastors should show a merciful attitude toward couples in illict unions by respecting their individual judgments. “Encouraging or silently accepting an erroneous judgment of conscience is neither mercy nor charity,” he says.
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Posted by: feedback -
Oct. 11, 2016 10:58 PM ET USA
Thank God for good shepherds, like Archbishop Sample.
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Posted by: MWCooney -
Oct. 11, 2016 6:20 PM ET USA
Archbishop Sample is courageous in making his statement, especially considering the part of the country that he presides over and the personal attacks he knows he'll endure because of it.
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Posted by: unum -
Oct. 11, 2016 9:30 AM ET USA
The archbishop is arguing for a smaller, less caring Church! The many examples of mercy in the New Testament argue against the archbishop's strident interpretation of Amoris Laetitia .
