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Marriage and Family
Links:
Sexual Relations and
Chastity
Magisterial Teachings:
Culture of Life - From Womb to Tomb:
- Notable Quotes -
The Second Vatican
Council
"The family is a
kind of school of deeper humanity. But if it is to achieve the
full flowering of its life and mission, it needs the kindly
communion of minds and the joint deliberation of spouses, as
well as the painstaking cooperation of parents in the education
of their children. The active presence of the father is highly
beneficial to their formation. The children, especially the
younger among them, need the care of their mother at home. This
domestic role of hers must be safely preserved, though the
legitimate social progress of women should not be underrated on
that account," (Gaudium
et Spes).
Marriage and
Same-Sex Unions
The Catholic Church
believes and teaches that marriage has been established by God
as the exclusive union of one man and one woman. Neither church
nor state can alter the basic meaning and structure of marriage.
For more information:
http://www.usccb.org/laity/manandwoman.shtml
US Bishops to
Families:
"The family exists
at the heart of all societies. It is the first and most basic
community to which every person belongs. There is nothing more
fundamental to our vitality as a society and as a Church," (Follow
the Way of Love, 1994)
Pope John Paul II
to Families:
"To the family is
entrusted the task of striving, first and foremost, to
unleash the forces of good, the source of which is found in
Christ the Redeemer of man. Every family unit needs to make
these forces their own so that...the family will be 'strong
with the strength of God,'" (Letter
to Families, 1994).
The Catechism of the
Catholic Church:
"Each of the two
sexes is an image of the power and tenderness of God, with equal
dignity though in a different way. The union of man and woman in
marriage is a way of
imitating in the flesh the Creator’s generosity and fecundity:
'Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to
his wife, and they become one flesh.' All human generations
proceed from this union. (Catechism,
2335)
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Marriage and Family Life
Contact:
Mrs. Valerie Burns
E-Mail
Did you know?
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The
percentage of households containing children has dropped 20% in
forty years to 28% of all households.
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Divorce
affects 26% of families with children. 28% of families with
children under age eighteen are headed by single parents.
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The shift in
family structure (away from married parents to single parents)
is accounted for by three rising trends: divorce, unmarried
births, and unmarried cohabitation.
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About 20% of
children under age eighteen live in poverty; 70% of these live
with a single-parent wage earner.
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Nearly
one-third of women report being physically or sexually abused by
a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives
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The
percentage (70-80%) of teenagers who say “having a good marriage
and family life is extremely important” has increased moderately
over the past decade. At the same time, there is widespread
acceptance by teens of non-marital lifestyles, particularly
pre-marital cohabitation.
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People are
getting married later in life. Median age for males is 27; for
females it is 25.
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From 40% to
50% of Catholic marriages are between a Catholic and a
non-Catholic; regional averages may be higher or lower.
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Roughly
two-thirds of both married men and married women rate their
marriages as “very happy”. This has remained mostly steady for
the past thirty years.
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Catholics are
substantially less likely than Protestants to get divorced (25%
versus 39%).
-
One’s chances
of divorce are diminished by such factors as: older age, higher
income, more education, having a religious affiliation, absence
of divorce in family of origin, and having a child after
marriage.
(source:
USCCB)
The Catholic Church believes and teaches that marriage is a
faithful, exclusive, and lifelong union between one man and one
woman, joined as husband and wife in an intimate partnership of
life and love. Marriage exists so that the spouses might grow in
mutual love and, by the generosity of their love, bring children
into the world and serve life fully.
Moreover, we believe the natural institution of marriage has
been blessed and elevated by Christ Jesus to the dignity of a
sacrament. In this way, the love of husband and wife becomes a
living image of the way in which the Lord personally loves his
people and is united with them.
God is the author of marriage. It is both
a relationship of persons and an institution in society.
However, it is not just any relationship or simply another
institution. We believe that, in the divine plan, marriage has
its proper meaning and achieves its purposes.
(USCCB)
Sisters of Life
St. Gianna Beretta Molla
Pro-life
witness, modern-day mother and physician, lover of life
"O Jesus, I promise You to submit myself to all that You permit
to happen to me; only make me know Your will"
When Gianna was twenty and a leader in Catholic Action and the
Saint Vincent de Paul Society, a group
involved with catechesis of young people, she gave them the
following instructions:
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Pray in the
morning and evening on your knees;
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Attend Holy
Mass and receive Holy Communion;
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Meditate every
day for 10 minutes and make frequent visits to the Blessed
Sacrament;
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Pray the Holy
Rosary to ask the help of Our Lady.
"In
total gift of herself to God and neighbor,
Mother Teresa found her greatest fulfillment and lived the
noblest qualities of her femininity. She wanted to be a sign
of 'God's love, God's presence and God's compassion', and so
remind all of the value and dignity of each of God's children,
'created to love and be loved'."
Pope John Paul II's
Homily
for the Beatification of
Mother Teresa
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