A National Pastoral Initiative on Marriage
Committee on Marriage and Family Life
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
On November 17, 2004 the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) unanimously approved a proposal from the Committee on Marriage and Family Life that the USCCB undertake a multi-year National Pastoral Initiative on Marriage, beginning in 2005.
The proposal originated from a request, first given to the USCCB Administrative Committee in March 2004, that the Conference develop a pastoral letter on marriage. The Committee on Marriage and Family Life judged that a pastoral letter would be opportune and valuable, but that a broader effort was needed to assist couples and pastoral ministers and to strengthen the institution of marriage in church and society.
The current debate about same-sex unions has produced a heightened level of public interest in and debate about the nature, purposes, and value of marriage. Other factors have also contributed, including the persistent high rate of divorce, the rapid rise of non-marital cohabitation, the declining rate of marriages, as well as the emergence of new societal consensus that we must devote multi-disciplinary effort to promoting and sustaining marriage as a loving, life-giving union essential to the wellbeing of children, families, and society.
In introducing the proposal and emphasizing its timeliness, Bishop J. Kevin Boland said to his brother bishops: “As leaders of the Catholic Church in the United States, we can help to create a positive climate that places healthy marriages at the heart of strong families, a strong nation, and a strong and holy church. This is a pastoral moment we should seize upon.”
The Initiative is a multi-year, broadly-based collaborative effort to strengthen marriage as a human institution and as a sacramental reality. It will make a pastoral letter its centerpiece, emphasizing the bishops’ teaching and pastoring responsibilities. It will deal with contemporary concerns about marriage from a foundation in Catholic doctrine and pastoral practice. It will draw from the experience and expertise of many, including engaged and married couples, social scientists, theologians, educators, communications experts, and others. It will address primarily various audiences within the Catholic community, but will also offer a positive message and evangelizing witness to society. It will directly produce and also encourage others to produce resources that help local pastoral ministers to do more effective teaching and pastoral care. It will seek collaboration within the Bishops Conference and cooperative relationships between the Conference and other groups which share similar concerns for the vitality of marriage.
The Initiative will encourage, to the extent possible and appropriate, projects that would prepare the way for a pastoral letter, that would strengthen and refine its message, and that would implement in specific, more extensive ways what a pastoral letter can address only in general terms.
The Initiative has three phases beginning in January 2005 and extending at least through 2007.
This phase includes various research and consultative activities designed for two purposes: (a) propose what topics and issues are most critical for being included in a pastoral letter and suggest ways of communicating the message faithfully and creatively; (b) produce information and ideas that, even if they cannot be incorporated fully into a pastoral letter, can be shared with various audiences as resources for promoting and sustaining marriage and enhancing pastoral ministry.
The activities presently envisioned for this phase include:
- Survey of all bishops for their perception of teaching and pastoral priorities regarding marriage;
- Summary and analysis of existing pastoral letters on the topic;
- Symposium of theologians and social scientists on the current state of marriage;
- Focus groups of single, engaged, and married persons/couples to identify questions, problems, opportunities, and hopes;
- Forums with pastoral leaders and selected experts on topics of special concern;
- National research to produce empirical data on Catholic marriage and to inform and enable pastoral responses;
- Periodic publication of reports and other material derived from the research and consultative activities.
The main outcome of this phase will be the pastoral letter itself, grounded in the activities of the previous phase and prepared through the usual USCCB process of drafting, revision, amendment, and approval. This phase concludes with the publication and initial dissemination of the letter.
The overall outcome of this phase should be the further development and application of themes contained in the pastoral letter and surfaced in the consultative phase. The intent should be to share the Christian message about marriage, in all its aspects, in as many ways as possible. Existing mechanisms will need to be employed for the task and others may need to be created for this purpose.
Possible implementation projects could focus on: parish-based resources and programs for married couples, creation or revision of policies and programs for marriage preparation, education and advocacy for public policies affecting marriage, teaching and pastoral materials on specific topics and for particular age groups or cultural groups, media and communications efforts to promote the value of marriage, coordination of activities and resources among groups working to support marriage, cooperation with other churches, religious organizations, and civic groups to help people prepare for marriage, sustain their commitment to it, and receive help when in difficulty.
“Married couples themselves, by witness of their faithful, life-giving love, are the best advocates for marriage. By their example, they are the first teachers of the next generation about the dignity of marriage and the need to uphold it. As leaders of their family – which the Second Vatican Council called a ‘domestic church’ (Lumen Gentium, no. 11) – couples should bring their gifts as well as their needs to the larger Church. There, with the help of other couples and their pastors and collaborators, they can strengthen their commitment and sustain their sacrament over a lifetime.”
U.S. Catholic Bishops
Between Man and Woman: Questions and Answers About Marriage and Same-sex Unions
November 2003