Pope Leo praises divisive text by predecessor Francis on remarried Catholics

Pope Leo XIV praised a text by his predecessor Francis on the hot-button issue of divorced and remarried Catholics and convened bishops to discuss the Church's approach to family matters.

Francis, who died last year, paved the way with his 2016 text for such Catholics to receive communion on a case-by-case basis.

The publication of "Amoris Laetitia" ("The Joy of Love") marked a turning point in the Argentine's papacy and sparked a heated debate within the centuries-old institution.

It angered conservatives because Church teaching traditionally holds that divorced Catholics who civilly remarry are living in sin and committing adultery, and therefore cannot receive the sacraments.

On the text's 10th anniversary, Leo said it was "a luminous message of hope concerning conjugal love and family life."

The US pope, elected in May, also summoned the heads of Bishops' Conferences around the world to Rome in October for a period of "mutual listening" on "measures to be taken" regarding family life.

"Our era is marked by rapid changes which make it necessary, even more than ten years ago, to give particular pastoral attention to families," he wrote in a message published by the Vatican.

Francis' desire to create an open, more inclusive and modern Church was sharply criticized by some traditionalists, with four conservative cardinals in particular accusing him of sowing confusion.

Since his election, Leo has broadly maintained the pastoral approach of his predecessor, while adopting a more institutional style.