Irish Church sees rise in couples preparing for marriage

CWN - February 11, 2011

Catholic Church officials in Ireland have announced an increase in the number of couples planning to marry in 2011.

ACCORD, the marriage ministry of the Irish Catholic bishops, reported that 1,255 couples had registered for marriage-preparation courses thus far this year. In the same early weeks of 2010 that figure was 1,183.

“This upward trend tells us that in 2011 commitment to marriage is more popular than ever,” claimed Ruth Barror, the director of ACCORD. “It is encouraging that despite the economic doom and gloom couples are voting with their feet and taking the big step to cement their relationship by committing to marriage.”

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  • Posted by: Wolf of Gubbio - Feb. 11, 2011 8:49 PM ET USA

    I'd love to be a fly on the wall at the marriage prep courses. I do wonder how faithful to Church teaching they are and how effective they are at genuinely preparing young couples for Catholic marriage. There doesn't seem to be any way to find out bar participating in a course oneself...

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