Marriage Preparation Courses for Catholic Churches in Lancaster
The Bishop of Lancaster has announced that couples wishing to get married in a Catholic church will have to undergo a Marriage Preparation Course consisting of six sessions with homework included.
There are two planned courses with the first being the Marriage Preparation which is a basic curriculum for non-practising Catholics and the second course is a Marriage Preparation Plus for churchgoers.
The courses have been requested by various priests after struggling to teach brides and grooms enough about marriage within the faith and Fr Robert Billing who is the Bishop’s secretary said. “At the moment there is some kind of education, because couples who want a church wedding meet a priest a few times before a wedding.
He went on to say, “often the priests are at a loss how to structure it, so this process formalises the whole thing.”
It will be the decision of the priest to decide which course would be best suited to a particle couple depending on their practising faith and knowledge.
Fr Tom Singleton of St Ignatius and English Martyrs churches in Preston said the course would help priests plan marriage preparations in a ‘more uniform way’.
He said: “The important thing is that priests are able to help couples for the long term and prepare them for the challenges which married life brings to a relationship.
“It is about helping teach them about the church, and about how it can support them through their married lives.”
Due to be published shortly the courses are according to Bishop O’Donoghue aimed at “couples with little or no knowledge of the faith or experience of the church”.
Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue confronted his fellow Bishops for failing to tackle same-sex adoption and homosexuality issues when he announced the closure of churches in the county.
Author - Pauline
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