4.2  Responsibilities of the Archdiocese

Goal:   To provide support to parish staff members to assist married couples to live out their vocation.

Guideline: Empower and encourage parish priests and deacons, and other staff and volunteers to become familiar with various direct and indirect ways of supporting married couples of the parish.

Discussion: Just as there are many different married couples in each parish, there are many different ways the Archdiocese and the local parish can provide support for married couples. Each parish needs to decide which means would be most effective for their situation, respecting the cultural, racial, and ethnic diversity that is a reality in most parishes. Most likely, employing a variety of strategies to support the married couples of the parish will prove most effective.

The Archdiocese will provide regular trainings/enrichments for parish ministers who minister to married couples. Bulletin articles that support marriage will be sent to parishes on a regular basis. Through mailings to pastors and other parish marriage ministers, the Archdiocese will keep parishes aware of new and continuous resources.

The Archdiocese will provide rituals/blessings to assist parishes to celebrate significant wedding anniversaries. The Archdiocese will also sponsor the annual Golden Wedding Anniversary Mass for Jubilarian couples of every parish. To make effective use of the Internet, the Archdiocese will provide a web page devoted to marriage and produce an e-mail newsletter for newly married couples.

The Archdiocese can provide consultation, resources, and creative planning to individual parishes as they develop specific strategies to empower the married couples of the parish.