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Father Tom Hartman’s first call was as a father. His second was as a Catholic priest. Hartman’s path to the cloth is one he loosely calls his resurrection story. It’s not a resurrection of mortal death, but the ending of one path and beginning of another he’d always felt called to. He married young. After Read more
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The marriage rate for New Zealand residents fell last year to its lowest since the peak in 1971. While the number of marriages and civil unions among residents has been steady at around 21,000 per annum for the last 20 years, a rising population means that the number per capita has been on a steady Read more
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As a cradle Catholic, I never thought I’d get a divorce, but I ended up with one earlier this year. Since we came to the decision, I’ve been dreading Christmas — the decorations, the Santa visits, the holiday cards. Christmas seemed all about perfect families and frameable moments, and this year I didn’t want any Read more
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There are so many lessons that someone going through a divorce needs to learn, but three of the most powerful (and difficult) lessons I’ve learned are these. The label “divorced” does not define a person. It’s an event that happened—terrible as it is—but it in no way is the sum total of who a person Read more
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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
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Silver splitters- people who divorce later in life – are on the increase in New Zealand, hundreds of family lawyers have said. A New Zealand Law Society and Grant Thornton survey of family law practitioners- the first of its kind in this country- reveal divorce trends and patterns, including the rise of the ‘silver splitter’, Read more
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Cardinal John Dew has posted a link on his Facebook page about a meeting Pope Francis had last Monday with a group of 35 separated and divorced women. One participant said afterwards Francis told them “the Church welcomes and embraces us.” “Pope Francis was well known in Buenos Aires for being among the people,” said Read more
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Remarried divorcees’ right to Communion is sparking a conflict in Germany. On one side, several members of the Council of German Bishops endorse Communion for the divorced and remarried. On the other, German Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, the Vatican’s doctrinal chief, says Communion for divorced and remarried people is impossible. “For us marriage is the expression Read more
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Philadelphia’s mayor has characterised as “not Christian” guidelines issued by an archbishop on a papal document on marriage and the family. Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia recently released pastoral guidelines in the wake of Pope Francis’s post-synodal exhortation Amoris Laetitia. In the guidelines, one of the topics addressed was divorced and civilly remarried Catholics living Read more
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American sexual behavior is much different than it used to be. Today, most Americans think premarital sex is okay, and will have three or more sexual partners before marrying. What, if anything, does premarital sex have to do with marital stability? This research brief shows that the relationship between divorce and the number of sexual partners Read more
