The fundamental and official words of the Pastors of the Church on the family and life: a heritage of six centuries of the Church's authoritative reflection is available to all online.
ECUMENICAL COUNCILS
Council of Florence
Council of Trent
Second Vatican Council
- Lumen Gentium, 1964; nos. 11, 12, 35
- Gaudium et spes, 1965; nos. 46-52, 93
- Apostolicam Actuositatem, 1966; n. 11
- Gravissimum Educationis, 1965; n. 3
Code of Canon Law, 1983; can. 834–848, 1055–1165
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1992; nos. 1601–1666, 1691–1698, 2331–2359, 2360–2400, 2514–2533
PAPAL MAGISTERIUM
Leo XIII
Pius XI
Pius XII
John XXIII
Paul VI
John Paul II
- Familiaris consortio, 1981
- Mulieris dignitatem, 1988
- Letter to families "Gratissimam sane", 1994
- Letter to children "Ad paucos dies", 1994
- Evangelium Vitae, 1995
- Letter to women "To each one of you", 1995
Benedict XVI
- Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons 2003
- Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Collaboration of Men and Women in the Church and in the World, 2004
- To the Participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Family, 2006
- To the Participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Family on the theme: "Grandparents: their witness and presence in the family", 2008
- Clarification on procured abortion, 2009
- Note on the banalization of sexuality Regarding certain interpretations of "Light of the World", 2010
- To Participants in the 19th Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Family, 2010
- To Participants of the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Family, 2011
Francis
- Amoris Laetitia
- Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus
- Mitis et Misericors Iesus
- Rescript regarding the implementation and compliance of the new law for marriage annulment procedures
- Carta del Santo Padre Francisco a los Obispos de la Región Pastoral de Buenos Aires en respuesta al Documento"Criterios básicos para la aplicación del capítulo VIII de la Amoris Laetitia" [ES] [AAS, 2016, pp.1071-1074]
- Catechesis on the Family
General Audience of 10 December 2014 (Video): The Extraordinary Assemblies of the Synod of Bishops dedicated to the family
General Audience of 17 December 2014: The family - 1. Nazareth (Video)
General Audience of 7 January 2015: The family - 2. The mother (Video)
General Audience of 28 January 2015: The family - 3. The father (First part) (Video)
General Audience of 4 February 2015: The family - 3. The father (Second part)(Video)
General Audience of 11 February 2015: The family - 4. The children (Video)
General Audience of 18 February 2015: The family - 5. Siblings (Video)
General Audience of 4 March 2015: The family - 6. The elderly (Video)
General Audience of 11 March 2015: The family - 7. The grandparents (Video)
General Audience of 18 March 2015: The family - 8. The children (I) (Video)
General Audience of 8 April 2015: The family - 9. The children (II) (Video)
General Audience of 15 April 2015: The family - 10. Male and female (I) (Video)
General Audience of 22 April 2015: The family - 11. Male and female (II) (Video)
General Audience of 29 April 2015: The family - 12. Marriage (I) (Video)
General Audience of 6 May 2015: The family - 13. Marriage (II) (Video)
General Audience of 13 May 2015: The family - 14. The three expressions (Video)
General Audience of 20 May 2015: The family - 15. Education (Video)
General Audience of 27 May 2015: The family - 16. Engagement (Video)
General Audience of 3 June 2015: The family - 17. Family and poverty (Video)
General Audience of 10 June 2015: The family - 18. Family and illness (Video)
General Audience of 17 June 2015: The family - 19. Death (Video)
General Audience of 24 June 2015: The family - 20. Wounds (I) (Video)
General Audience of 5 August 2015: The family - 21. Wounded families (II) (Video)
General Audience of 12 August 2015: The family - 22. Celebration (Video)
General Audience of 19 August 2015: The family - 23. Work (Video)
General Audience of 26 August 2015: The family - 24. Prayer (Video)
General Audience of 2 September 2015: The family - 25. Evangelization (Video)
General Audience of 9 September 2015: The family - 26.Community (Video)
General Audience of 16 September 2015: The family - 27. Nations (Video)
General Audience of 7 October 2015: Family - 28. The family spirit (Video)
General Audience of 14 October 2015: Family - 29. - Promises to children (Video)
General Audience of 21 October 2015: Family - 30. Fidelity to the promise of love (Video)
General Audience of 4 November 2015: Family - 31. Forgive us our debts (Video)
General Audience of 11 November 2015: Family - 32. Conviviality (Video)
General Audience of 18 November 2015: Family - 33. The welcoming door (Video)
DOCUMENTS OF THE HOLY SEE
Pontifical Council for the Family
- Charter of the Rights of the Family, 1983
- In the Service of Life, 1992
- The Church and the International Year of the Family, 1993
- Ethical and Pastoral Dimensions of Population Trends, 1994
- The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality. Guidelines for Education within the Family, 1995
- Preparation for the Sacrament of Marriage, 1996
- Vademecum for Confessors Concerning Some Aspects of the Morality of Conjugal Life, 1997
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
- Persona humana, 1975
- Donum Vitae, 1987
- Annus Internationalis, 1994
- Instruction Dignitas Personae on Certain Bioethical Questions, 2008
Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts
MEETINGS WORLD OF FAMILIES
- Rome, 1994: The Family, the Heart of the Civilization of Love
- Rio, 1997: The Family: Gift and Commitment, the hope of humanity
- Rome, 2000: Children: Springtime of the Family and of the Church
- Manila, 2003: The Christian Family: Good News for the Third Millennium.
- Valencia, 2006: Handing on the Faith in the Family
- Mexico, 2009: The Family: Teacher of Human and Christian Values
- Milan, 2012: Family, Work & Celebration
Theological Pastoral Congress
Speeches of the Holy Father - Philadelphia, 2015: Love is our mission: The family fully alive
- Dublin, 2018: The Gospel of the Family: Joy for the World
- Rome, 2022: Family love: a vocation and a path to holiness
OTHER DOCUMENTS OF THE PCF
- The Sexual Exploitation of Children, 1992
- The Natural Methods for the Regulation of Fertility, 1992
- The Rights of the Family and the Media, 1993
- The Rights of the Family on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, 1993
- The Institutes for the Family and for Bioethics, 1993
- 25th Anniversary of Humanae Vitae, 1993
- The Rights and Care of the Elderly, 1993
- Family and Adoption, 1994
- The Family and the Cairo Conference, 1994
- Marriage and the Family in the World, 1994
- May The Domestic Church be the Sanctuary of Life, 1995
- The Family and the Economy in the Future of Society, 1996
- The Dignity of the family and Life in American Politics, 1996
- The Family and Demography in Europe, 1996
- The Family: Gift and Commitment, 1996
- Liberalization of Drugs?, 1997
- The Pastoral Care of the Divorced and Remarried, 1997
- Families of Children with Cerebral Impairments, 1997
- The Family - Rio de Janeiro, 1997
- Declaration on the decrease of fertility in the world, 1998
- Human Rights and the Rights of the Family, 1998
- The Family and Human Rights on the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1999
- The Family and Life in Europe Today, 1999
- The Family and Human Rights, 1999
- Declaration on the Resolution of the European Parliament, which Equates the Family with "de facto" Unions, Including Same Sex Unions, 2000
- Family, marriage and "de facto" unions, 2000
- Cloning: the disappearance of direct parenthood and denial of the family, 2003
- Family values versus "safe sex", 2003
