National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage
Dialogue with Social Scientists and Theologians
As part of the National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage, in October 2005, the USCCB Committee on Marriage and Family Life sponsored a colloquium at Creighton University's Center for Marriage and Family entitled "Promoting and Sustaining Marriage as a Community of Life and Love." The colloquium brought together three theologians and three social scientists to explore, by means of prepared papers and subsequent discussion, the points of convergence and mutual reinforcement that both disciplines bring to the topic of marriage. The discussion was a collaborative search for ways that Catholic teaching and ministry can connect with the questions, needs, and aspirations of those contemplating marriage and those living it.
- Introductory remarks of Bishop Kevin Boland, Chairman of the Committee on Marriage and Family Life
- Colloquium Summary
Colloquium Papers
Theology
- "Marriage as a Unitive and Procreative Partnership" by Dr. John Grabowski
- "Marriage as a Covenant and Sacrament" by Dr. Julie Hanlon Rubio
- "Marriage as a 'School of Love'" by Dr. Wendy M. Wright
Social Science
- "Patterns and Predictors of Success and Failure in Marriage" by Dr. Barbara Dafoe Whitehead
- "The Lifecycle Stages of Marriage" by Sr. Barbara Markey, Ph.D.
- "Seeking a Soulmate: A Social Scientific View of the Relationship Between Commitment and Authentic Intimacy" by Dr. W. Bradford Wilcox