The New (& the Old) Evangelization The Church’s role in marriage trends

Jul 1, 2011

The Catholic Church is the hope and despair of mankind. When her pastoral practices mirror those of Jesus Christ, inspiring holiness in her members, society inevitably benefits from her graces.  Hence, the institution of marriage, the cradle of society, flourishes all the more. And the guarantor of this cradle – at least in centuries past – has been the Catholic Church.

However, when the light of the Church’s pastoral standards are relaxed and the holiness of her members is frail, then the institution of marriage suffers. With an ever increasing acceptance of same-sex marriage and cohabitation becoming a popular alternative to marriage, our nation's prosperity and stability is then compromised.

Recently, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed the “Marriage Equality Act,” to the state legislature. And sure enough, starting in July of 2011, New York State will become the “sixth and largest state to legalize gay marriage.” (MSNBC headlines) But what invariably precedes immoral legislation is a breakdown of morality among the people. And as I said, the Church has traditionally known to be the guarantor of the people’s morality.

For the first time in America's history a majority of young adults from ages 25 to 34 are choosing not to get married. Cohabitation rates, especially among the lower classes, have risen sharply in recent years. The data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2009 and 2010, American Community Survey and 2010 Current Population Survey confirms this. This is what they found:

• A 2010 Census revealed that for the first time in U.S. history, married couples represent 48 percent of all households, putting them in the minority.
• Between 2000 and 2009, the share of young adults ages 25 to 34 who are married dropped 10 percentage points, from 55 percent to 45 percent.
• Among the total population ages 18 and older, the proportion married dropped from 57 percent in 2000 to 52 percent in 2009.
• In 2008, non-marital births accounted for 41 percent of all births in the United States; although roughly half of these non-marital births are to cohabiting couples.

As one analyst said, "This is the lowest percentage recorded since information on marital status was first collected by the U.S. Census Bureau more than 100 years ago." The question Catholics should ask is: What relationship does the Catholic Church have with regard to these marriage trends? And how can she reverse it?

No doubt, the Catholic Church has the highest doctrinal standards with regard to marriage. Her teachings on the indissolubility of marriage and contraception are just a few of the doctrines which are counter-cultural. However, the pastoral practices of the Church in these last five decades- especially with regard to marriage preparation –have not been counter-cultural; far from it, they have been quite accommodating. For instance, as an instructor of one diocesan engagement program in 2005, I was made aware that 44 percent of all engaged couples I was instructing were cohabitating. But repentance from the mortal sin of premarital sex was not insisted upon. And herein lies the problem.

As a result of this pastoral accommodation – allowing engaged couples to go through marriage prep unchecked – rates of cohabitation, divorce and contraception among Catholics are roughly the same as the rest of society. In other words, the Church in America is composed of members who fare no better in their personal holiness than non-Catholics. If the majority of Catholics fail to observe all the moral laws of Christ then the Church as a whole will be ineffective in her witness.

Before the 1960s, and especially in the first millennium, a common pastoral practice in the Catholic Church was that she required repentance from sin, especially serious sins, as a pre-condition for participating in the sacraments. Also, if one was to enter the Church he or she had to believe everything Christ as taught by the Catholic Church. Picking and choosing was not an option.

In the early Church, especially, to live as Christ enjoined was proven by repentance and a virtuous life. The holy jealousy of the bishops regarding the integrity of the Church, and the salvation of souls committed to their care, was given clarity and detail at the Council of Nicea. Canon 12 reads as follows: "Those who by fear and tears and patience and good works prove that their conversion is real and not simulated, when they have completed the prescribed time among the hearers, may fittingly participate in the prayers after which it is at the discretion of the bishop to treat them with an even greater kindness."

Council of Elvira, from the same period, specifically addressed the need to repent from fornication. It decreed the following: "If it is determined that youths who have fornicated after having been baptized may, when they have done legitimate penance and when they have been married, be admitted to communion." Here, repentance from fornication and then entering into the lawful union of marriage (if the couple chose to get married) was the condition from which these "youths" could be admitted to communion.

The Catholic Church in the twenty-first century certainly has a great deal of work to do in shoring up pastoral practices through which engaged couples are prepared for the sacrifices of marriage and more importantly, “that holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrew 12:14) Thankfully, however, there has been a renewed effort by the Church to recover the wise pastoral practices of the past. Indeed, Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, and Archbishop John Nienstedt of Minneapolis are just a few leaders who have publicly challenged the political campaign to redefine marriage as between a man and a woman.

With a return to the effective pastoral practices of the early Church and that apostolic zeal which accompanied it, the Church is sure to be a more visible sign of hope for society.