For Catholics, marriage between two baptized Christians is a sacrament and is blessed by the hand of God, according to marriage counselors at For Your Marriage, an initiative formed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Because the Catholic Church does not recognize civil divorces, clergy and Catholic counselors place special emphasis on maintaining the union.
History
While marriage counseling always has been available from clergy and Catholic-based counseling services, U.S. bishops formed the National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage in 2004. The initiative was meant to strengthen the church's role in the lives of Catholic couples and to promote Catholic marriage values. Outreach and counseling ministries have been formed to provide direction to married couples.
Function
The function of Catholic marriage counseling is to ensure the longevity of the union, report counselors at Catholic Marriage Counseling. Catholic marriage counselors help couples find ways to incorporate the teachings of the faith to resolve conflicts. Catholic marriage counseling views the sacrament as a lifelong commitment, so the function of a Catholic marriage counselor is to preserve the marriage.
Types
The Catholic Church strongly encourages couples to enter into counseling prior to their wedding. Many priests will not marry a couple who has not gone through counseling. The purpose of early intervention counseling is to make sure couples are compatible and understand the responsibilities of marriage. Catholics are encouraged to attend marriage seminars and private counseling regardless of whether their marriage is in trouble.
Warning
Catholics are warned against marrying outside of their faith. Catholic leaders recognize however, that mixed marriages do exist. Counselors at For Your Marriage report that by 2006, more than 40 percent of Catholics married outside of their faith. Catholic officials only recognize the marriage contract if the other party is a baptized Christian. Marriage counseling for mixed faith couples includes talk about what faith the children will be raised in, what faith the couple will become most involved in and how they will react to extended family concerns.
Considerations
Catholic Church officials do recognize that marriages end for a variety of reasons. Following a lengthy counseling process, a spouse who wants to leave a marriage can receive an annulment from the church and be free to marry within the church in the future. Valid reasons accepted by the Catholic Church for annulment include mental illness, infidelity and drug abuse.
