Comprehensive new guidelines to help tie the knot

Dioceses in England and Wales are preparing for the introduction of new guidelines on marriage preparation, which are due to be published by the Bishops’ Conference after the final report by the Synod on the Family.

The guidance, which has been prepared by the Marriage and Family Life Committee of the Department of Christian Responsibility and Citizenship, is expected to recommend extended and more comprehensive marriage preparation.

According to the Bishops’ Conference, two dioceses – Middlesbrough and Plymouth – are currently recruiting for new marriage preparation co-ordinators. Canon Derek Turnham of Middlesbrough said that it had started 18 months ago to develop a new vision for marriage preparation, which will involve more lay people but be led by a consultant.

“It looks like we’re going to have an appointment at about the time the guidelines come out – so they will be able to hit the ground running,” he said.

The position is funded by one of the £25,000 grants awarded by the Bishops’ Conference to projects that support the family. Applications for grants, which are an extension of the Celebrating Family Fund launched in 2008, are open until Easter.

Meanwhile new figures from the Catholic marriage support agency in Ireland, Accord, show a drop last year in the number of couples seeking help for their relationship due to financial problems and an increase in the number of relationship problems relating to internet and mobile technologies.

The number of clients who sought counselling from Accord for financial problems peaked in 2012 as the economy stalled in the wake of the property crash. However, the figures, for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, are still much higher than pre-recession levels. Both use of the internet (17 per cent) and use of phones/texting (21 per cent) are increasingly blamed for friction in relationships.

The vast majority of Accord’s clients are Catholic, but the number of those with no religious affiliation has risen from 2 per cent in 2007 to 7 per cent in 2015.

Overall, last year the number of people attending pre-sacramental marriage preparation courses rose to 15,774, up from 14,232 in 2012. However, those taking marriage and relationship counselling fell from 42,191 in 2012 to 33,969.