Amidst Italy’s falling birthrate, groups helping Italian families must give joyful witness and lobby hard for family life, Pope Francis says. “We are living in a serious demographic winter, and we must react to it with all our force, with our work, with our ideas,” he said as he welcomed Italian Forum of Family Associations Read more
As Millennials reach a new stage of life – the oldest among them will turn 39 this year – a clearer picture of how members of this generation are establishing their own families is coming into view. Previous research highlights not only the sheer size of the Millennial generation, which now surpasses Baby Boomers as Read more
You hear people say it takes a village to raise a child; some new research supports this intuition. A recent report suggests that women’s social networks positively affect her child’s cognitive development, says Dr John Shaver from the University of Otago. The analysis also suggests that religious women have stronger support networks. Shaver says that Read more
Ann and Bryan Watt celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary in Wainuiomata last weekend after renewing their vows at St Patrick’s Church in front of friends and family, including 10 of their 17 children. Ann, 79, and Bryan, 82, have also fostered about 12 children throughout their marriage. The Watts still live in the four-bedroom home Read more
Close to two hundred people were fed physically and spiritually at the Family Banquet featuring celebrity chef and priest Father Leo Patalinghug. The charity event was hosted by the Centre for Marriage and Family (CMF) on 10 November in Tawa, near Wellington. The American Filipino-born priest who travels the world sharing the importance of family dinners, Read more
A New Zealand-based commissioner on Samoa’s Commission of Inquiry on Domestic Violence says that country’s vision for a non-violent society heartens her. Tagaloatele Peggy Fairbairn-Dunlop said people had been saying old family values of fa’asamoa have weakened and it’s now time to go back to traditions like evening family prayers. She said the Commission would Read more
Kevin and Madeleine Feeney married in Auckland in 1954, built their dream home in Takapuna in 1957, lived there for 60 years, and had a joint send off — their coffins side by side — at St Luke’s Catholic Church in Bayswater, on August 4. Last year they moved from Takapuna into a retirement village Read more
A spokeswoman for the Catholic bishop of Auckland said Christian marriage was “a sacred covenant”. Married At First Sight trivialised marriage for ratings and did not give the couples their best chance at success, she said. Married At First Sight pairs couples “at the altar” as they embark on an experiment to see if they can Read more
Since the late 1970s David and Bronwyn Lea have been active in the Marriage Encounter movement. They became co-ordinators for the Pacific in 1995. And then came the call to lead the global programme. Between 2005 and 2010 they travelled the world encouraging individual countries to promote and develop Marriage Encounter. And during that time Read more
This year, for the first time, World Marriage Day was celebrated in New Zealand at a Wellington Event organised by the Centre for Marriage and Family (CMF). The Family Fun Day Out at Aotea Lagoon included games and spot prizes, a walk around the lagoon, cakes, live music and a sausage sizzle. Many young couples Read more