Church ‘fails to teach children about marriage’

Children do not understand that marriage is a “divine vocation”, the Bishop of Shrewsbury said at a Mass for grandparents.

Speaking ahead of the Synod on the Family in Rome, Bishop Mark Davies said many young people had been failed by what amounted to a lack of catechesis.

Many did not realise, he said, that marriage is a divine vocation, not a human invention that changed with the views of passing generations.

“We share a deep concern for the many victims of this confusion, not least the children,” he said at Shrewsbury Cathedral last week. “The vision of marriage as a divine vocation for their own happiness and salvation and that of children has been allowed to fade.”

His words come as the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales prepares to release new guidelines about Marriage Preparation.

It is understood that the guidelines have been approved but will not be released until after the Synod on the Family concludes.

Meanwhile Cardinal Vincent Nichols told BBC Radio 4’s Sunday programme that the synod was primarily “about the witness of the family in the Church”.

“I think the whole Church, me included, has a lot to learn about family life,” he added.

When questioned as to whether those asking for change would be heard, he said: “This synod is not about doctrinal change. I don’t think there’s going to be changes in any of the Church’s teachings in the synod.”