No Future Without Strong Families, Pope Leo Affirms
The Amoris Laetitia anniversary meeting closed Oct. 14 with bishops praying for the Holy Father after his lung cancer surgery.
The Vatican meeting of presidents of bishops’ conferences and heads of Eastern Catholic churches marking the tenth anniversary of the 2016 apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia concluded on the evening of Oct. 14, 2026, with prayers for Pope Leo XIV’s recovery.
Held Oct. 7–14 in the Paul VI Hall, the gathering included more than 42 hours of discussion. Pope Leo XIV opened the assembly on Oct. 7 and took an active part until the afternoon of Oct. 13, when he underwent surgery to remove a lung nodule later confirmed as lung cancer.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle presided at the morning closing Mass and read the pope’s prepared homily. In that text, the Holy Father stated that “the world has no future without strong families open to the gift of children and attentive to their education and growth.”
In a message signed the day of his surgery, Pope Leo wrote: “I will read the fruits of your work and discussions, and offer my reflections in due course.” He asked that the synthesis report not be made public until he reviews it personally.
Accompaniment at the Heart of the Talks
Jesuit Father Giacomo Costa, a meeting organizer and consultant to the General Secretariat of the Synod, said “accompaniment” was a key word throughout the exchanges. Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta reported a “renewed commitment to put the family at the center of the Church’s pastoral mission.”
Topics included the cohabitation of young couples, social-media portrayals of traditional families, annulments, Communion for the divorced and remarried, and pastoral accompaniment amid poverty, migration, violence, addiction, and precarious work. Participants also examined preparation for married life beyond the wedding ceremony and the role of families in forming seminarians and pastoral workers.
U.S. theologian Julie Hanlon Rubio cited “heartbreaking stories” of exclusion from the Eucharist and recalled Amoris Laetitia on the logic of the Gospel that “no one can be condemned forever.”
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan, Cardinal José Cobo Cano of Madrid, Cardinal Protase Rugambwa of Tabora, and Archbishop Andrew Nkea of Bamenda also addressed the assembly. The pope had urged discretion and confidentiality on the interventions.
The meeting thus closed in prayer for the Holy Father and in renewed fidelity to the Church’s mission to the family, awaiting his personal discernment on the work completed.