His Beatitude Sviatoslav Takes Part in Meeting with Pope Leo XIV Dedicated to the 10th Anniversary of “Amoris laetitia”
On October 7, a meeting marking the 10th anniversary of the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris laetitia began in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. Nearly 250 people invited by Pope Leo XIV are participating in the event, including the heads of the Eastern Catholic Churches and the presidents of Episcopal Conferences from various countries around the world. Among the participants in the meeting, dedicated to the state of family ministry, is His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
Bishop Vitaliy Skomarovskyi and His Beatitude Sviatoslav at the Vatican, October 7, 2026.
Photo: The Secretariat of the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Rome
Ukraine is also represented by Bishop Vitaliy Skomarovskyi, President of the Conference of Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine.
The meeting began with a prayer and a reading from Scripture. Following welcoming remarks by Cardinals Kevin Farrell and Mario Grech, Pope Leo XIV addressed the participants.
In his opening statement, the Holy Father emphasized that the family has always held an important place in the Church’s pastoral care and that, in the 10 years since the publication of Amoris laetitia, the document has been received in various cultures and pastoral contexts, has accompanied the daily lives of families, and has inspired numerous initiatives and processes.
According to the Pontiff, participants in the meeting should bring to the shared discernment their experiences of “what God has accomplished among us,” as well as the challenges, questions, and fruits that have emerged over the past 10 years: “These are stories gathered along the path of the mission: stories of conversion, unexpected fruits, and also the relationships that God has woven within families as our communities have sought to accompany them,” explained Pope Leo XIV.
According to him, families themselves participate in the Church’s mission “in the ordinary fabric of their lives”—through love and fidelity, care and forgiveness, raising children, and passing on the faith. At the same time, the Church is called to listen to families, welcoming their experiences, questions, and testimonies in order to better discern the reality in which they live.
The Holy Father paid particular attention to the challenges facing families today: the growing gap between how sex and intimacy are experienced and the Christian vision of marriage. At the same time, people’s choices and their vision of the future are influenced by economic insecurity, migration, violence, loneliness, and other forms of emotional vulnerability.
According to the Pontiff, recognizing these challenges poses a series of questions for the Church, which, in his words, should be addressed with courage. “What kind of Church do people encounter at the very moment when they are most fragile?” the Pope asked.
He called on us not only to reflect on these realities, but also to allow them to pose questions for the Church herself and to inspire her to renew her pastoral responsibility, so as to proclaim the Gospel in a new way, to administer the sacraments, to accompany families, and to make visible the tenderness with which Christ continues to walk among his people.
In conclusion, the Holy Father expressed his hope that, from the many stories the participants brought from their Churches and various cultural contexts, a shared account of these 10 years would gradually take shape—a story marked by joy and hope.
The participants then took part in a time of spiritual reflection led by Sr. Helen Alford, OP, after which they began working in small groups.
The theme of the meeting is “10 Years After the Publication of ‘Amoris laetitia’: Proclaiming the Gospel Together with Families Today.” Over the course of seven days, participants will examine pastoral issues related to accompanying people through the various stages of family life.
A significant portion of the program will be devoted to group work, alternating between speaking, listening, and silence. The resulting work will be compiled into a final report, which, after discussion in a plenary session, will be presented to the Holy Father.
Secretariat of the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Rome
Photo: Vatican Media
