Pope Leo XIV Calls Worldwide Meeting of Bishops to Chart Future of Family Ministry

Yesterday, Pope Leo XIV announced that he will convene a meeting of the presidents of Episcopal Conferences in October 2026 to undertake a new phase of “synodal discernment” on the future of family ministry. The announcement came in a message marking the tenth anniversary of Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis’s post-synodal apostolic exhortation on the family, the 8th chapter 8 of which sparked considerable controversy by greenlighting case-by-case pastoral discernment for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics, including possible access to Holy Communion. Pope Leo framed the upcoming gathering as a continuation of the “synodal” process, emphasizing “mutual listening” among Church leaders and attentiveness to the lived experiences of families.