Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth has said his diocese will develop its pastoral practice in response to Pope Francis’s Amoris Laetitia.

In a pastoral letter to be read out in the diocese’s churches this Sunday, Bishop Egan says he would like both clergy and laypeople to “review and develop our pastoral practice” around marriage.

The bishop adds that the Pope’s apostolic exhortation “does not change Church discipline”, a reference to the issue of Communion for the divorced and remarried.

Bishop Egan says that Amoris Laetitia, which was published in April, looks at four areas in particular: promoting the vocation to marriage among young people; marriage preparation; supporting Christian families; and helping those “in troubled relationships and so-called ‘irregular unions’”. The pastoral letter addresses possible changes in all four areas.