The Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols will tell Catholics on Sunday that marriage has an “instinctive understanding” and that changing the definition to include homosexuals would be a “profoundly radical step” that would strip it of its “distinctive nature. The warning will be read in 2,500 churches during Sunday Mass, and will also be co-signed Read more
Edible bras made of sugar candy, tingling massage oils and saucy but “blessed” books on sex for married couples – these are just some of the items available from a Polish online retailer that aims to spice up Catholic marriages.
The Marital Alcove (alkowamalzenska.pl), which was launched more than a year ago, aims to “develop and enrich marriages.”
It has quickly grown in popularity in a country known for its conservatism and has challenged stereotypes common within the Roman Catholic Church that sexual pleasure is something shameful.
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Auckland Catholic Bishop, Patrick Dunn, is appalled at an Auckland’s Rock Radio stunt of offering on-air divorce for sale on the station on Valentine’s Day. In this stunt the station advertised for a wife or husband who wanted to quit their marriage. The Rock would cover the cost of a divorce if the successful applicant was prepared Read more
The fact that the number of Americans getting married is at a record low is due to changes in society’s values, public policy decisions and economic factors, says sociologist Dr. W. Bradford Wilcox.
He was responding to a Dec. 14 Pew Research analysis that indicates marriage rates in the U.S. are at a record low, as young couples are delaying marriage longer than ever before.
According to Pew Research Center’s analysis of U.S. Census data, only 51 percent of adults in the U.S. are currently married, compared to 72 percent in 1960. In addition, new marriages in America dropped by five percent between 2009 and 2010.
While the decline in marriage is taking place among all age groups, it is most drastic among young adults. The analysis observed that only 20 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 29 are married, a drop from 59 percent in 1960.
Part of the decrease in currently married individuals may be tied to young adults delaying marriage, the report said. Both men and women are about six years older when they enter into their first marriage than couples 50 years ago were.
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The New Evangelization was the focus of Pope Benedict XVI’s remarks to the bishops of New Zealand and the Pacific on Saturday, as he received them at the end of their ad limina visits. In his address to the Bishops of New Zealand and the Pacific Pope Benedict spoke of the contribution of priests and Read more
Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, has publicly expressed support for homosexual civil unions. In a move that seemed to put him at odds with the Catholic Church, on November 26 Nichols said, “As a Church we are very committed to the notion of equality so that people are treated the same across all the activities of Read more
The Vatican dicastery for the Family is currently studying a pastoral document on marriage preparation, in which it clearly rejects pre-marital living experiences and cohabitation. The document also provides guidelines for “family accompaniment.”
“The engagement period, is objectively and essentially different from the union of marriage, in that this preparation period does not involve the couple uniting their lives yet.” The bishop told journalists: “I personally believe that most young people are capable of understanding this difference and to grasp the value of each of these two moments: the moment when a promise is made and the moment when this promise if fulfilled,” Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Family, Mgr Jean Laffitte said.
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Bishop Philip Tartaglia of Paisley explained in a pastoral letter that marriage is designed for the mutual good of the spouses and to provide both a father and a mother to children. But same-sex unions are “different in nature and purpose from marriage” and should not be called by the same name, he said. He Read more
There were 20,900 marriages registered to New Zealand residents in the December 2010 year, down 700 or 3 percent from 21,600 marriages in 2009. A further 2,200 marriages were registered to overseas residents in 2010. The highest number of marriages in any year was in 1971, when 27,200 couples tied the knot. “What we should be doing is actively encouraging Read more
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has established a Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty in response a number of perceived attacks on religious freedom by Federal and State Departments. Bishop William Lori will chair the committee. Archbishop Timothy Dolan, president of the Bishops’ Conference, listed six particular areas of concern: • The Department of Health Read more