The Querida Amazonía group resumes activities with the session: Amoris Laetitia

Dr. Oscar Perdiz, philosopher and doctor of theology, spoke of the importance of the exhortation Amoris Laetitia, which refers to the "joy of love" as the center of life and history.

The interdisciplinary study group Querida Amazonía resumed its activities on August 23, 2023 with an ordinary session on the post-synodal exhortation Amoris Laetitia given by Dr. Oscar Perdiz Figueroa, member of the group and professor at the John Paul II Institute, philosopher and doctor in theology from the Pontifical Lateran University.

He established the importance of the exhortation that refers to the "joy of love" as the center of life and history, and as a universal vocation. In this regard, he established that love is spoken of as a feeling, drive, desire and commitment.

He also mentioned a series of events that contextualize it, such as the role of the Second Vatican Council in which it is understood that the church is a community of communities, these being families, in which in the last 120 years there have been love difficulties between couples, and, therefore, between families, a reason that has detected the need to accompany marriages and families, the central essence of the papal exhortation.

The second event talks about the sexual revolution prior to the exhortation, understanding it from the revolutions that make it up and the difficulties that they bring with it, and four models of love: courtly love, puritanism, romanticism and the sexual revolution that led to the model love of today, which is typically capitalist and is also called "liquid love", typical of the 21st century.

On this subject, he explained that "sexuality emerges from the realities to which it has been linked, seeing itself as an end in itself and not as a means, which has led to several problems that should be clarified and accompanied."

The third event delves into the overflow of the separation between love and sexuality, which has had consequences such as individualism, violence, among others. For this reason, he mentioned the Familiaris Consortio, which understands the Church as an ally of the family.

Amoris laetitia, published on March 19, 2016, is an accompanying and pastoral document that seeks to combat emotivism, narcissism, disconnection and fragmentation, putting the Church at the service of families to build the "craftsmanship" of love, since the love relationship is understood as a work of art that requires both technique and skills.

Christian marriage as a ministerial sacrament implies being inserted in a mystery, which is the love of Christ for the Church, following the path of the sacraments. Here the model of love is Christ, who invites submission to the other and this requires work and direction to overcome difficulties and conflicts.

The speaker also emphasized the idea of ​​fruitful love through the metaphor of the artisans of life through generosity, trust and magnanimity that introduces the couple in a moral itinerary of mutual belonging. Regarding the accompaniment, he said that "it is important to be artisans in the accompaniment of couples, marriages and families."

Finally, he shared the idea of ​​being artisans with children, which refers to learning to be parents and to conceive of life as something to share.

Based on the concepts presented by Dr. Perdiz Figueroa, various reflections were offered in which it was highlighted that the accompaniment seeks to give love durability. Finally, the speaker recalled that Amoris Laetitia encourages betting on the relationship and accompanying it in its various stages with people prepared to provide this specialized support.