VATICAN CITY — The mutual self-gift of husband and wife underlies the requirement for “total fidelity” and the “unbreakable oneness” of marriage, Pope Leo XIV said at the general audience Oct. 21.
“The mutual self-giving of man and woman, such that ‘they are no longer two but one flesh,’ underlies the requirement for ‘total fidelity’ and the ‘unbreakable oneness’ of the spouses, finding vivid expression in the procreation and upbringing of children,” he said during his catechesis.
The pontiff presided over the general audience just days after being discharged from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he underwent surgery for lung cancer Oct 13. It was the Holy Father’s first ride in the popemobile since the operation and a chance to greet the faithful who had braved the morning’s rainy weather.
The pope was welcomed with a lengthy applause when he arrived at the platform in St. Peter’s Square. Not only pilgrims, but also cardinals and bishops working in the Roman Curia gave a standing ovation upon his arrival. For many, it was the first opportunity to shake his hand again following his hospitalization.
Pope Leo appeared energetic after the surgical procedure, which took place just eight days ago. Before beginning the catechesis, he thanked the many people who had shown him support during his hospitalization: “The first thing I would like to say is thank you! Thank you for the support of your prayers. Thanks be to God for his generosity.”
During his address, the Holy Father continued his series of messages dedicated to the Second Vatican Council’s pastoral constitution “Gaudium et Spes.”
He focused his reflection on marriage and the family, convinced that “the well-being of the individual and of human and Christian society is intimately linked with the healthy condition of that community produced by marriage and family.”
He stressed that the commitment to protecting families is “more urgent than ever before” and reminded “all those with social responsibilities, especially in the political and cultural spheres,” of their duty to “work efficiently for the welfare of marriage and the family.”
“The church is well aware of this, as shown by the pastoral concern of the popes who have succeeded one another since the last council, right up to the two synodal assemblies convened by Pope Francis, which were addressed again in recent days by the heads of the Eastern Catholic Churches and the presidents of the episcopal conferences,” he said.
Pope Leo was referring to a recent meeting on the family he convened to mark the 10th anniversary of the apostolic exhortation “Amoris Laetitia,” attended by the presidents of bishops’ conferences from around the world.
A synthesis document compiling the principal interventions, without doctrinal authority, had been scheduled for publication, but the pontiff requested that its release be postponed so that he could study it carefully.
The pope emphasized that Gaudium et Spes does not merely reiterate the values and purposes of marriage, but offers a renewed understanding of it as an “intimate partnership of married life and love.” He explained that this vision incorporates the juridical dimension of marriage as a contract, while grounding the union in the “conjugal covenant,” understood as the “human act whereby spouses mutually bestow and accept each another.”
In his view, this reality finds a particularly vivid expression in the procreation and upbringing of children. “Conjugal love is not limited to erotic attraction, which it nonetheless encompasses, but involves the entire will of the spouses, enlivening the affections of their hearts and expressing itself through sentiments and gestures of tenderness,” he explained.
He also noted that this love “embraces the good of the whole person of both man and woman, who are equal in dignity.” It “pervades the entire life of the spouses, finding expression in acts proper exclusively to marriage.”
“Whilst signifying integral love from person to person, the unique intimacy between the spouses fosters their mutual self-giving and enriches their shared joy,” he added, before highlighting that the fruitfulness of conjugal love is also expressed through the procreation of children, “the supreme gift of marriage.”
“By transmitting and educating human life, which must never be rejected, spouses become ‘cooperators with the love of God the Creator, and are, so to speak, the interpreters of that love,’ ” Pope Leo said, quoting from Gaudium et Spes.
The pope added that spouses, called to this human and Christian responsibility, “are bound to allow themselves to be guided by a sound judgment regarding their own good and that of their children, whether already born or yet to be born.”
“Such a judgment, which, in the final analysis, the spouses themselves must form before God, requires that their conscience conform to divine law, as interpreted by the magisterium of the church in the light of the Gospel,” he stated.
Drawing on these principles, the pontiff reiterated the church’s defense of human life from conception. From this, he said, it follows that “from the moment of its conception, life must be guarded with the greatest care,” while rejecting “abortion and infanticide.”
He also affirmed that “the acts themselves which are proper to conjugal love and which are exercised in accord with genuine human dignity must be honored with great reverence.”
