This review article documents how Amoris Laetitia has been received and implemented, five years after the post-synodal exhortation on family life was promulgated by Pope Francis. Theological engagement with and pastoral applications of Amoris Laetitia have already proven life giving as we celebrate the Year of the Family in local contexts, even as questions remain about how best to interpret the document. Many of those questions center on how chapter 8 should be read vis-à-vis the tradition—whether it is a corruption of the tradition, a restating of the tradition, or a coherent development of the tradition.

An analysis of trends in American politics and economics points to serious threats to the legitimacy and vitality of the nation’s democracy. Large numbers of disaffected individuals are resentful and mournful regarding recent developments in public life. Understanding the sources of resentment and grief should lead to a reassessment of government’s role in the economy and to an imperative to address the crisis of the isolated individual.