{"id":98325,"date":"2016-04-09T10:52:36","date_gmt":"2016-04-09T14:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aleteia.org\/?post_type=post&p=98325"},"modified":"2016-04-09T10:52:36","modified_gmt":"2016-04-09T14:52:36","slug":"so-what-is-an-exhortation-anyway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2016\/04\/so-what-is-an-exhortation-anyway\/","title":{"rendered":"So What Is An “Exhortation,” Anyway?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

There\u2019s some befuddlement out there on the Interwebs, and more than a few Catholics are referring again and again to \u201cthe pope\u2019s latest encyclical\u201d when they talk about Amoris Laetitia. <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Some have taken to comparing it unfavorably to \u201cother encyclicals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s clear up the confusion.<\/p>\n

First, Amoris Laetitia<\/em> is not an encyclical. It is an Apostolic Exhortation. Our friends over at EWTN have thoughtfully compiled a list of different kinds of papal documents,<\/a><\/strong> to clarify what they are and the force they carry:<\/p>\n

The weight of authority behind a teaching of the Papal Magisterium depends on the dogmatic history of the teaching and the intention of the Supreme Pontiff. Papal addresses and documents invariably contain teachings in several categories of authority. Some of these teachings will be \u201cof the faith\u201d (de fide<\/i>),\u00a0 requiring the assent of Catholics by reason of the virtue of faith\u2019s obligation to God revealing. Among such de fide<\/i> teachings will be those which have been solemnly defined (such as the divinity of Christ, or, the Immaculate Conception of Mary), and<\/u> those which, while they have not been solemnly defined, belong to the infallible ordinary Magisterium, having been taught \u201csemper et ubique\u201d (always and everywhere). Examples of the latter include the evil of certain sins, such as abortion or adultery, or the restriction of the priesthood to men.<\/span><\/p>\n

Papal addresses and documents may also contain teachings which come from the common teaching of the Church, but which cannot yet be said to be de fide, <\/i>and even new insights and explanations which manifest the mind of the Magisterium. Such authentic <\/i>teaching has a presumption of correctness and deserves the reverence and submission of Catholics. By doing so peaceful communion in matters of the faith is maintained throughout the Church, properly gathered around the principle of unity in faith given by Christ to the Church, Peter and his successors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To the issue at hand:<\/p>\n

\n

Encyclical<\/strong><\/p>\n

A circular or general letter expressing the mind of the Pope, generally on matters of faith and morals. It may be a letter to the entire Church or an epistle to a particular Church or people (e.g. Mit brennenden sorge<\/i>, Pius XI\u2019s encyclical to the German people condemning racism).<\/span><\/p>\n

Apostolic Letter<\/strong><\/p>\n

Letters of less solemn authority than an encyclical, they may be written on a doctrinal matter (e.g. Pope John Paul II\u2019s Letter On the Beginning of the Third Millennium<\/i>). They may also announce a papal act such as declaring a person Venerable (heroic virtue) or declaring a church a Basilica.<\/span><\/p>\n

Apostolic Exhortation<\/strong><\/p>\n

A category of document similar to an Apostolic Letter, which the pope\u00a0uses to communicate to the Church the conclusions he has reached after consideration of the recommendations of a Synod of Bishops.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Wikipedia<\/a><\/strong> puts it this way:<\/p>\n

An apostolic exhortation<\/b> is a type of communication from the Pope<\/a> of the Roman Catholic Church<\/a>. It encourages a community of people to undertake a particular activity but does not define Church doctrine<\/a>. It is considered lower in formal authority than a papal encyclical<\/a>, but higher than other\u00a0ecclesiastical letters<\/a>, Apostolic Letters and other papal writings.<\/p>\n

Apostolic exhortations are commonly issued in response to an assembly of the Synod of Bishops<\/a>, in which case they are known as post-synodal apostolic exhortations<\/b>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s some befuddlement out there on the Interwebs, and more than a few Catholics are referring again and again to \u201cthe pope\u2019s latest encyclical\u201d when they talk about Amoris Laetitia. Some have taken to comparing it unfavorably to \u201cother encyclicals.\u201d Let\u2019s clear up the confusion. First, Amoris Laetitia is not an encyclical. It is an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":76799,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSo What Is An "Exhortation," Anyway?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There's some befuddlement out there on the Interwebs, and more than a few Catholics are referring again and again to "the pope's latest encyclical" when\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2016\/04\/so-what-is-an-exhortation-anyway\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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