The number of people marrying in New Zealand is falling, says Statistics New Zealand. It says in 1992 the marriage rate was 18.3 couples per 1000 people eligible to marry. That includes those who formed a civil union from 2005. This rate dropped to 10.9 couples in 2017. Statistics New Zealand says the highest number Read more
Ruth and Florido Salem renewed vows 48 years on after priest at first wedding failed to file legal documents. The reason: The priest who officiated at their wedding in 1970 did not sign the marriage contract and did not submit the documents to the Office of the Civil Registrar. Continue reading
A groundbreaking New Zealand decision has led to a few disturbances in the fabric of religious time and space. The registrar-general of births, deaths and marriages Jeff Montgomery has approved the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster as an organisation to solemnise marriages. Massey University professor of history Peter Lineham has questioned the decision by the registrar-general and Read more
A cardinal says the Church must look for the good in relationships that don’t conform to a marital ideal, citing an example of a stable gay relationship. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna said in an interview with La Civilta Cattolica that the bishops at next month’s synod on the family should not take a stance Read more
Ireland’s Catholic bishops have warned that the Church may no longer perform the civil aspects of weddings if same-sex marriage is legalised. Ireland is to have a referendum on legal same-sex marriage next month. If the bishops’ warning comes to pass, it would mean couples married in the Catholic Church in Ireland would have to Read more
An American archbishop has suggested Catholic priests protest against same-sex marriage laws by refusing to sign any civil marriage certificates. Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia urged the US bishops to consider this in response to what he called the “new marriage regime” of same-sex civil marriage. In a lecture in New York on October 20, Archbishop Read more