St Patrick’s Cathedral, Auckland, may give consideration to a policy on the use of social media at weddings in the church. The move comes on the back of a British study of bride’s expectations, showing nearly half believe it is important to enforce digital rules on wedding guests. The study also indicated one in seven Read more
Anya Tate-Manning, 33, has been with her partner, James, for “about five years” now. That she has to stop and think about it for a moment, counting backwards to when they first got together, is telling of their level of commitment – there’s no self-conscious mental tallying of months like there is by those on Read more
New Zealanders are marrying later than in the past. Statistics from the 2013 census released on 5 May show that in 2013, the median age at first marriage was 30.1 years for men and 28.6 years for women – up from 27.3 and 25.2 years in 1993. Although the median age at first marriage has Read more
It’s what they talk about in movies and soap operas; 15-years-old, Catholic and pregnant. The daughter of a well known policeman, to the son of a well known Catholic school principal. The shame. The embarrassment. The scandal. Well, that was me, the 15-year-old girl, and from the moment I snuck to the doctors to have Read more
The way Vatican II looked at ecumenism shows a possible path forward for interpreting doctrines about marriage, Cardinal Walter Kasper says. Speaking to Vatican Radio, Cardinal Kasper said the responses to recent Vatican questions about the family show there is an “abyss” between Church teaching and people’s situations. “The Church has to bridge this abyss,” Read more
Introducing legal pre-nuptial agreements would invite engaged couples to prepare for divorce and would undermine marriage, an English Catholic bishop has warned. Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury gave his warning in a sermon, before publication by the Law Commission of proposals for a new law “to consider the treatment of pre-nuptial, post-nuptial and separation agreements”. Read more
“Please, thanks, and sorry”, is Pope Francis recipe for a lasting marriage. The Holy Father offered this advice on Friday, St Valentine’s Day, to 10,000 engaged couples from 30 different countries, who accepted his offer of ‘a special date’ and joined him in St Peter’s Square. Speaking to the fiancés, Francis said expressions of courtesy, Read more
A British government-backed study calculates that every British Pound spent on marriage preparation courses could save the taxpayer up to £11.50. The report follows on estimates that broken relationships cost Britain between £20 – £44 billion annually and emphasises that when the social cost of separation is taken into account successful relationship initiatives could pay for themselves Read more
In October 2014, there will be a meeting of the Synod of Bishops in Rome to examine “Pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelisation”. To assist them prepare for the Synod the Bishops of New Zealand have asked Catholics across New Zealand to respond to a marriage questionnaire. The New Zealand Catholic Read more
The Archbishop of Westminister, Vincent Nichols is urging Catholics in England and Wales to complete ‘the pope’s survey’. So far around 5,000 people from England and Wales have filled in the survey. Elizabeth Davies, marriage and family life project officer, told the Catholic Herald that 15,000 people had accessed the survey so far but only Read more