Love, marriage survey ready

Do you have an opinion about marriage?

If so, the Catholic bishops in Massachusetts want to hear it.

A survey of people’s views on marriage and their suggestions for educational materials on the subject is the next step in the bishops’ initiative on the dignity and vocation of marriage called “The Future Depends on Love.”

The purpose of the initiative, which began with prayer last summer, is “to educate and inspire Catholics about the vocation of marriage and its importance in the Church and in society,” Bishop McManus says in a letter to priests sent out last week.

He also reminded them that the initiative is a way “to motivate and equip Catholics to become well-informed and articulate participants in the public debate on marriage and family; to influence public policy by faithful witness to the foundational moral values that inform the Church’s teaching; and to help retrieve the traditional understanding of marriage as the lifelong union of husband and wife, open to the gift of children.”

Bishop McManus asks the pastors to make their parishioners aware of the online survey which can be found at www.MassCatholicMarriage.org. Catholics are urged to take the brief survey to give their opinions on marriage and on the kinds of programs they would like to see the Church develop.

(Results of a national survey on marriage can be found in story below.)

The Massachusetts Catholic Conference, the bishops’ public policy office, launched “The Future Depends on Love” in June with the distribution of Holy Family prayer cards and a special prayer for marriage. David Franks, a professor at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, and Angela Franks of Boston serve as the coordinators.

But what prompted the states four bishops to take this action?

“The number of Catholic marriages is down dramatically,” said Allison LeDoux, director of the diocesan Office of Marriage and Family.

A check of the Official Catholic Directory shows that in 1970 the Worcester Diocese recorded 2,860 marriages of which 2,110 were Catholic marriages and 750 were interfaith marriages. In 2000, the total number of marriages was 1,260, with 1,008 of them Catholic. And just seven years later, in 2007, the directory lists 606 Catholic marriages and 136 interfaith marriages.

These statistics show how important it is to “redouble our efforts to educate the Catholic faithful on how fundamental marriage is to the good of society,” Mrs. LeDoux said.

The launch of the initiative coincided with the state’s battle over same-sex marriage that came to a head last summer.

“Long before the Massachusetts legislature voted on June 14, 2007 to deny the people of the Commonwealth their right to vote on a proposed constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union between one man and one woman, the four dioceses of Massachusetts were working to develop the new marriage initiative,” says the MCC Web site. “The action of the Massachusetts legislature only energizes the Catholic Church in its efforts to promote the vocation of marriage to better serve families and society in future generations.”

“The Future Depends on Love” is expected to run until spring of 2009.

Parishes will receive a resource kit next month which will include suggestions for creating awareness of the program, posters depicting the beauty of married love to aid in its promotion, and an explanation of the role of the sacraments and the liturgy in the initiative, Bishop McManus states.

By summer the education component, being put together by MCC, is expected to be ready for distribution. And in the fall, the diocese is planning a re-institution of the Wedding Anniversary Mass, Bishop McManus said.

“With these materials, we hope to rekindle an awareness of the beauty of marriage,” said Dr. David Franks. “Marriage is now often seen as an unnecessary risk or burden. We want to make clear that the very future of the world is at stake in marriage. Marriage is where true love generates new life – and changes everything.”

“Marriage is given to us by the Creator so that two blessings may flourish: love and life,” said Dr. Angela Franks. “The natural meaning of marriage is something that can be understood by non-believers as well as by Christians: marriage is an exclusive commitment that is lifelong and life-giving. That is, it is the expression of true love. But by grace, marriage is even more: it embodies Christ’s marriage to the Church and injects into the world the eternal life of love of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Christian marriage is truly an awesome thing!”

“The Future Depends on Love” addresses both of these aspects of marriage. It will produce materials to help Catholics articulate the natural meaning of marriage and to evangelize the culture. The carrying out of this mission is integral to living the full grandeur of marriage, the MCC press release says.

“For most people, the breathtaking adventure of holiness is to occur within marriage,” said Dr. David Franks. “And holiness, true love in action, is the great counter-cultural witness to the fact that every one of our free actions bears on the common good – including our decisions to pursue the good of sexual pleasure. In a culture of self-centered individualism, it is vital to grasp the inseparability of healthy marriage and social justice.”

“We are very excited to be promoting the lifelong and life-giving love of marriage in ‘The Future Depends on Love’ initiative,” said Dr. Angela Franks. “As Pope Benedict XVI has said, ‘love promises infinity, eternity – a reality far greater and totally other than our everyday existence.’ We can’t live without love, and our society cannot exist without the faithful love of husbands and wives.”