Omaha, Neb., Jun 29, 2007 / 08:24 am
The Archdiocese of Omaha has severed ties with Creighton University's Center for Marriage and Family after two university researchers said the Catholic Church should allow engaged couples to live together and have sex before marriage.
The two researchers, Michael Lawler and Gail Risch, made their position known in the June issue of U.S. Catholic magazine.
Lawler is the director of the Creighton Center for Marriage and Family and professor emeritus of Catholic theology at Creighton. Risch is an instructor of ethics.
In the article, Lawler and Risch proposed a “modern-day betrothal” situation which they claim reflects Catholic tradition. They noted that in the 13th and 14th centuries couples were often first betrothed — a mutual consent to spend the rest of their lives together — before they were actually married.