Findings on today's families coming soon

From October 5-19, 2014, the Synod of Bishops was convened in Rome for an Extraordinary gathering to consider Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the Context of Evangelization.  This was the first of a two-part consultation with the Bishops of the world, and by extension with all Catholic families, in an attempt to identify the modern-day situations faced by fathers, mothers, grandparents and children who are attempting to live their faith in today's society.

Although Synodal meetings of Bishops (and other experts) have taken place before, and indeed the subject of the family was also studied by previous Synods, this was the first time that such a consultation took place over the span of two encounters, separated by a 12-month span of time.  The second part of this consultation, an Ordinary Synod, took place from October 4-25, 2015 and focused on the theme: The Vocation and the Mission of the Family in the Church and in the Contemporary World.

Synods are meant to be consultative: bishops and others from various parts of the world meet with the Holy Father to provide input - in this case to paint a picture of the current situations facing and challenging families, and the Holy Father then synthesizes the information gathered and creates a teaching document known as an Apostolic Exhortation.

This morning, the Holy See Press Centre issued a notification to all accredited journalists to inform them that on Friday morning, April 8, 2016, beginning at 11:30am, a Press Conference will be held in the John Paul II Hall (at the Press Centre) to present the post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the family written by Pope Francis.  It is entitled Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love) and focuses on love as it is portrayed in families.

Next Friday's Press Conference will include interventions from Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, General Secretary of the Synod of Bishops; Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, OP, Archbishop of Vienna (Austria); and a married couple, Professor Francesco Miano, a lecturer in moral philosophy at the University of Rome at Tor Vergata and his wife, Professor Giuseppina De Simone in Milano, a lecturer in philosophy at the Theological Faculty of Southern Italy, located in Naples.

The Press Conference will be available via live streaming and subsequently on demand.

The Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia will be published on that same day, April 8, 2016 at noon (GMT+1).