British Bishop Peter Doyle on Apostolic Exhortation

(Vatican Radio)  Bishop Peter Doyle of Northampton praised Pope Francis’ realism about peoples’ situations and "his emphasis on inclusion rather than exclusion" in his just-released post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the family, ‘Amoris Laetitia’. Bishop Doyle was one of two British prelates representing England and Wales at the 2015 Synod on the Family in the Vatican.  He is also the chair of the Marriage and Family Life Committee for the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales. He spoke to Susy Hodges.

Listen to the interview with British Bishop Peter Doyle of Northampton:

Asked about his reaction, Bishop Doyle said he was “really excited” by this Apostolic Exhortation and said what the Pope had produced in this new document was “fantastic” because “it upholds the teaching of the Church: presenting  marriage in a very positive light but at the same time embracing people who are in very difficult situations.”   

“It’s not a change of teaching but a change of focus,” he declared, and “I welcome it (the Exhortation), not just for the Church but also for the wider community.”  

Entitled ‘Amoris Laetitia’ or the Joy of Love, the Apostolic Exhortation contains 9 chapters and is over 200 pages long.  Bishop Doyle said “two things that stand out” for him in this lengthy document are: how the Pope is “very realistic about peoples’ situation” and “his emphasis on inclusion rather than exclusion.”