MERCY AND TRUTH IN RELATION TO THE DIVORCED AND REMARRIED IN THE POPE FRANCIS’ APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION “AMORIS LAETITIA”

Apostolska pobudnica pape Franje „Amoris laetitia“ (Radost ljubavi) u odnosu na problem pripuštanja sakramentima rastavljenih i ponovno civilno vjenčanih vjernika predstavlja velik izazov kako pastoralnim djelatnicima tako i teolozima. Papa Franjo čini velik iskorak tako što u prvi plan ne stavlja pitanje valjanosti prvoga braka nego se usredotočuje na pitanje je li svatko tko se nalazi u takvoj situaciji istovremeno i u stanju osobnoga grijeha. Usvajajući tradicionalne teze crkvenog moralnog nauka, papa Franjo smatra da ono što je objektivno grešno ne znači da uvijek čovjek, živeći u tako objektivno grešnom stanju, čini i osobni grijeh. Na taj način otvara vrata daljnjem promišljanju o praksi Crkve u odnosu na ljude koji žive u neregularnim situacijama. U prvom je planu Papinih razmatranja čovjek pod dvojakim vidom: s jedne strane pod vidom povijesnosti kada mu okolnosti ne dopuštaju promijeniti stanje u kojemu živi i, s druge strane, čovjek koji je sposoban snagom vlastite savjesti donositi odluke za koje je uvjeren da su u ovom trenutku najprimjereniji odgovor koji Bogu može dati. Na taj način otvara mogućnost rasprave oko uvjeta pripuštanja osoba koje žive u civilnom braku sakramentima ispovijedi i euharistije.Abstract In relation to the problem of admitting divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to the sacraments, Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation “Amoris Laetitia” (Joy of Love) represents a great challenge both to pastoral workers and theologians. Pope Francis makes a big step forward by not putting in the foreground the question of the validity of the first marriage, but focusing on the question of whether anyone in such a situation is at the same time in a state of personal sin. By adopting the traditional theses of the Church’s moral doctrine, Pope Francis considers that what is objectively wrong does not mean that a person, living in such an objectively sinful state, also always commits a personal sin. In this way Pope Francis opens the door for further reflection on the practice of the Church in relation to people living in irregular situations. In the foreground of the papal considerations stands the human being under two aspects: on the one hand, under the aspect of history, when the circumstances do not allow a person to change the state of life, and on the other hand a human being as capable, with the strength of one’s own conscience, of making decisions certain that these are, at the time, the most appropriate answer he can give to God. In this way, Pope Francis opens the possibility of discussion about the conditions of admission of persons living in civil marriage to the sacraments of Confession and the Eucharist