Pope Francis, Marriage, and the Family
Anna Bonta Moreland Villanova University
Michael MorelandVillanova University
In the wake of a synodal process that reflected on “the vocation and mission of the family today,” (RF 1) Pope Francis recently released a sweeping and rich post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia on love in the family, in which he invites Christian families to “value the gifts of marriage and the family, and to persevere in a love strengthened by the virtues of generosity, commitment, fidelity and patience” and invites everyone to “be a sign of mercy and closeness wherever family life remains imperfect or lacks peace and joy” (AL 5). Spouses Anna and Michael Moreland will consider how the themes and goals of the document address the place of marriage and the family in the life of the church today.
Anna Bonta Moreland is Associate Professor of Humanities at Villanova University. She received her PhD in Systematic Theology from Boston College. Prof. Moreland is author of Known by Nature: Thomas Aquinas on Natural Knowledge of God and What’s Reason Got to Do with it? Contemporary Theologies of Religious Pluralism (forthcoming). She resides in Bryn Mawr, PA with her husband and four children.
Michael Moreland is Professor of Law at Villanova University and Mary Ann Remick Senior Visiting Fellow at the Center for Ethics and Culture and Concurrent Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame. He holds a BA in philosophy from Notre Dame, an MA and PhD in Theological Ethics from Boston College, and a JD from the University of Michigan. He teaches and writes in the areas of torts, bioethics, and law and religion. Professor Moreland served as the project leader for The Libertas Project, a program from 2013 to 2015 at Villanova sponsored by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation exploring religious and economic freedom in American public life, and served as Associate Director for Domestic Policy at the White House under President George W. Bush.
