London, England, Oct 21, 2023 / 07:00 am
The institution of marriage is not merely in “cataclysmic decline” but is at risk of being eradicated altogether, a U.K. bishop has warned.
During a sermon on Oct. 14 at a Mass for a diocesan celebration of marriage, Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury, England, told a congregation of married couples: “It is hard to imagine in little more than half a century the promises you made, the vocation you embraced would become more and more exceptional. So exceptional in these early years of this 21st century that most recent statistics show a 61% decrease of marriages in our land, the lowest number of couples entering marriage for almost two centuries, and the first time in our history that more children are born outside of marriage than in a married home.”
He continued: “The headlines do not seem to exaggerate when they speak not merely of a cataclysmic decline but of marriage disappearing in Britain. The social consequences of such a loss are only beginning to be worked out, not least for the well-being of children.”
Davies went on to speak optimistically of the hope Christian marriage offers, saying: “At a moment in our history when marriage is increasingly being lost sight of, the witness you have given simply by living the promises of marriage through every trial and difficulty is no small thing and today shines out more and more brightly.