Vatican City - Pope Francis endorsed suggestions for a yearlong "marriage catechumenate" drafted by the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life* , saying "superficial" marriage preparation programs leave many couples at risk of having invalid marriages or unprepared to cope with the struggles that arise in every marriage,

"With too superficial a preparation, couples run the real risk of having an invalid marriage or one with such a weak foundation that it falls apart in a short time and cannot withstand even the first inevitable crises." the pope said.

“There is therefore first and foremost a duty to accompany with a sense of responsibility those who manifest the intention to be united in marriage, so that they may be preserved from the traumas of separation and never lose faith in love,” the pope said in the preface to “Catechumenal Itineraries for Married Life,” published on June 15.

The 97-page booklet, prepared by the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life, in Italian, will soon be released in other languages. The documents serves as a pastoral tool for bishops, priests, married couples, and people serving in family ministry.

In addition to general presentations to children and teens about marriage as a vocation, the actual "marriage catechumenate" for couples should last about a year and begin with a celebration or "rite of engagement," the dicastery said. The second phase should include a few months of more immediate preparation and a pre-wedding retreat just before the wedding. The third phase of assisting newlyweds should last two or three years.

After all, the dicastery said, for Catholics matrimony is not a one-day celebration, but "it is a vocation, a journey to holiness that embraces one's entire life."

Just as preparations for living the vocations to priesthood or religious life extend over time years, not a few weeks so should preparations for the vocation of marriage, the document said.

While not presenting a complete curriculum, the dicastery said preparation should: last long enough to allow couples time for real reflection and maturation.

The Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life said that the marriage preparation booklet was an initiative to mark the Amoris Laetitia Family Year, which is dedicated to deepening pastoral outreach to families. The year marks the fifth anniversary of Amoris laetitia, Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation on love in the family. It will end on June 26, with the 10th edition of the World Meeting of Families in Rome.
-Angelus/CNA