In the wake of Amoris Laetitia, there has understandably been much talk of pastoral accompaniment, gradualism, and the internal forum; of meeting people where they are, in the messiness of their lived lives; of not bending bruised reeds; and the like.
I don’t suppose that any priest or bishop, on any “side” of the current debates, genuinely disagrees with the need for these approaches in pastoral care. For indeed, ‘God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him’ (John 3.17). Where they do disagree, however, is on what, in concrete terms, applying these ideals amounts to.
