From Humanae Vitae to Amoris Laetitia: the Evangelisation of Human Love

Humanae Vitae indissolubly combines two concepts: reinforcing spousal communion and the constant openness to life.  Amoris Laetitia further develops this connection throughout the various stages of life. Both documents underline how the family is the fruit of human love and, within it children become the tangible sign of marital unity.

These are, in short, the points that emerged during the Fourth Congress of the “Africa Family Life Federation”, which took place recently in Mauritius on the theme “From Humanae Vitae to Amoris Laetitia: the Evangelisation of Human Love”. Monsignor Patrick Dubois, an officer of the Dicastery, attended the event and was the spokesman of a message sent by the Prefect, Kevin Farrell.

The purpose of the week of round tables and workshops – attended by 19 diocesan bishops from the African Continent and 28 associations of African faithful – was a reflection on the themes of family, life and young people, and specifically on the challenges of Humanae Vitae in today's world, the beauty of human love and the wonder of bestowing life, the issues related to comprehensive sexual education programmes promoted by the United Nations, the fundamentals of natural family planning and how to address the issue. Also at the heart of the debate, the challenges of emotional and sexual education in the integral construction of the human being today, scientific research  based on the development of the service to life for a culture that promotes it, the strategies to be implemented for the service to life and its specificity within the pastoral care of the family, the biological foundations of anthropology.