A Message for
Marriage Sunday
26 August 2012
from
The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland
In
all things, we as Catholics look to Jesus Christ as our model and
teacher. When asked about marriage He gave a profound and rich reply:
“Have you not read that the Creator, from the beginning, ‘made them male
and female’, and said: ‘This is why a man must leave father and mother
and cling to his wife and the two become one body’.” (Matthew, 19:
4-5)
In the Year of Faith, which begins this October, we wish to
place a special emphasis on the role of the family founded on
marriage. The family is the domestic Church, and the first place in
which the faith is transmitted. For that reason it must have a primary
focus in our prayerful considerations during this period of grace.
We
write to you having already expressed our deep disappointment that the
Scottish Government has decided to redefine marriage and legislate for
same-sex marriage. We take this opportunity to thank you for your past
support in defense of marriage and hope you will continue to act against
efforts to redefine it. We reaffirm before you all the common wisdom
of humanity and the revealed faith of the Church that marriage is a
unique life-long union of a man and a woman.
In circumstances when
the true nature of marriage is being obscured, we wish to affirm and
celebrate the truth and beauty of the Sacrament of Matrimony and family
life as Jesus revealed it; to do something new to support marriage and
family life in the Catholic community and in the country; and to
reinforce the vocation of marriage and the pastoral care of families
which takes in the everyday life of the Church in dioceses and parishes
across the country.
For that reason, in the forthcoming Year of Faith
we have decided to establish a new Commission for Marriage and the
Family. This Commission will be led by a bishop and will be composed
mostly of lay men and women. The Commission will be charged with
engaging with those young men and women who will be future husbands and
wives, fathers and mothers, and with those who already live out their
vocation to marriage and parenthood in surroundings which often make it
hard to sustain and develop the full Catholic family life we cherish.
We
wish to support too, those who are widowed, separated and divorced and
all who need to feel the Church’s maternal care in the circumstances in
which they find themselves. The new Commission will promote the true
nature of marriage as both a human institution and a union blessed by
Jesus. The Commission will be asked to develop an online presence so
that prayer, reflection, formation and practical information on matters
to do with marriage and family life can be quickly accessible to all.
It will also work to produce materials and organise events which will
support ordinary Catholic families in their daily lives. During the
course of the coming year we will ask for your support for these
initiatives.
Our faith teaches us that marriage is a great and holy
mystery. The Bishops of Scotland will continue to promote and uphold
the universally accepted definition of marriage as the union solely of a
man and a woman. At the same time, we wish to work positively for the
strengthening of marriage within the Church and within our society.
This
is an important initiative for all our people, but especially our young
people and children. We urge you to join us in this endeavour. Pray
for your own family every day, and pray for those families whose lives
are made difficult by the problems and cares which they encounter.
Finally, we invite you to pray for our elected leaders, invoking the
Holy Spirit on them, that they may be moved to safeguard marriage as it
has always been understood, for the good of Scotland and of our society.(H/T-SCMO:here)
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