Reach out to unmarried couples, support newlyweds, pope urges
ROME— The Catholic Church must reach out to couples living together without being married, Pope Francis told those involved in family ministry in the Diocese of Rome. The church’s outreach should extend “also to those young people who choose to live together without marrying. We must witness to them the beauty of matrimony,” the pope said Sept. 27 during an evening meeting at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of the Rome Diocese. Some 850 priests, permanent deacons and married couples involved in diocesan and parish projects to prepare couples for marriage and minister to families met with…
If we want school shootings, break up the family
WE’VE seen them on TV and videos. We have seen the anguish, anger, and unbearable fear of young people who survived. One survivor who was being interviewed, just faltered: “I can’t do it, I’m sorry, I can’t,” as he choked and walked away. Entering the feelings of the children who were inside one of those classrooms should help us think seriously, and decide that we do not want any of those elements that have led to this hellish state in the most influential nation in the world. And so it should lead us to research with a most non-prejudiced mind…
Couples told: ‘Have courage to fight divorce bill’
Pro-life advocate Mae Amorante shares inputs during an enhancement seminar for Pre-Cana facilitators in the Diocese of Malolos.RAINIER POLICARPIO Speaking at a recently-concluded enhancement seminar for Pre-Cana facilitators in the Diocese of Malolos, Mae Amorante called on husbands and wives to deepen their understanding of marriage and to take a stand against the proposed divorce bill. “One of the challenges the society faces nowadays is the number of dysfunctional marriages and families,” she said in an interview with CBCP News. “And with this, all of us must find the courage to speak our minds about divorce.” “Let us remember that right…
DIVORCE….Why not?
1. Divorce in the Philippines is not legal but it looks like there are more couples getting an annulment. Isn’t this enough reason to legalize divorce? The increasing numbers may be due to a greater awareness of this procedure than before. We get to know more about annulments or separations today especially if they involve movie or society personalities. The media loves to elaborate on the details but no one seems to be paying attention to the millions of good marriages around, which do not see print. In Defense of Marriage: Why is divorce no good? 2. The Philippines is…
My wife and I were divorced. Then my son started hanging out with a local family
March 23, 2017 (ThePublicDiscourse) — The most riveting, wise, and helpful statement I have heard in recent years was shared by Ifeyinwa Awagu of Lagos, Nigeria, in a short video prepared for the 2014 Vatican Humanum Colloquium on the Complementarity of Man and Woman: The couple is the locus, it’s a starting point, but it’s a ripple . . . Whatever I do in my marriage, the circle keeps increasing, keeps widening, until it covers the whole world. Marriage is beyond us. It’s about the society. It is your own project for the world. Ify’s statement is pure gold, displaying immense truth and…
In-dept study: After Divorce, 44% of women fell into poverty
MARRIAGE AND ECONOMIC WELL-BEING: THE ECONOMY OF THE FAMILY RISES OR FALLS WITH MARRIAGE Research May 2011 of Family Research Council (found here) Fagan pointed to the massive cost of divorce on society, noting, “If the government pledged to reduce family breakdown by just one percent, taxpayers would save around $1.1 billion dollars each year.” Executive summary of research paper: The income decline that follows divorce, particularly among women, is well documented. Divorcing or separating mothers are 2.83 times more likely to be in poverty than those who remain married. Following a divorce, the parent with custody of the children…
CBCP STATEMENT ON THE DIVORCE BILL
The fact that we’re one of the last few countries without a divorce law until now speaks volumes about us as a nation. No doubt, those who associate divorce with being progressive would laud our legislators who are currently raring to pass a divorce bill in Congress. With due respect to them, we beg them to make room for more reasoned debates on the issue. Since they act as representatives of the people who elected them in office, we humbly suggest that they submit their personal opinions to a further consultation with their constituents. Perhaps they can also consult experts…
CBCP: ‘Divorce law could destroy struggling but repairable marriages’
Giving struggling couples an easy option to jump ship is like consigning still fixable marriages to an instant death. This was one of the main messages of the Philippine bishops in a pastoral statement on the pending divorce bill, issued March 13, Tuesday. “In a context in which divorce is presented as an easy option, marriages and families are bound to break up more easily,” said Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines president Archbishop of Davao Romulo Valles. 4 out of 10 marriages The prelate also posed the question of whether the Philippines is setting out to follow the…
Baby Orion Was an Unplanned Pregnancy, But He Changed His Parents’ Life for the Better
Brittany Baker was shocked to find out she was pregnant in October 2015. Though, unlike many women who go through an unexpected pregnancy, the father of Brittany’s child, Dan Gillard, embraced his new role as a father from the beginning, the couple knew they had an uphill climb ahead of them. Amid that pressure, Baker and Gillard turned to Project Life—now “Options for Women St. Croix Valley”—a life-affirming pregnancy center in Stillwater, Minn. “I was pretty scared, pretty shocked,” Baker said. “I didn’t think I’d get pregnant at 22. I was worried about letting the family down or them being…
Pro-Life Model Adriana Lima Goes Against the Grain, Says Sex is “For After Marriage”
People often are surprised when they learn that one of the world’s top supermodels, Adriana Lima, is pro-life and pro-abstinence. Lima, a Catholic, is well known as one of Victoria’s Secret’s longest-running models. But her devotion to abstinence and her faith also has drawn a lot of media attention her way. “Sex is for after marriage… [Men] have to respect that this is my choice. If there’s no respect, that means they don’t want me,” she said previously. True to her word, Lima said she waited to have sex until she married her husband, basketball player Marko Jaric, at age…
