Bishops discuss cohabitation of young couples at Vatican meeting on marriage and family
Catholic bishops gathered at the Vatican to discuss the global decline in marriage rates and the rise of cohabitation among young couples. Experts urged the Church to approach these trends with empathy and listening rather than immediate condemnation.
Why it matters
The discussion reflects the Church's attempt to modernize its pastoral approach to family life and address the changing social realities of younger generations.
VATICAN CITY (OSV News) — On the third day of a weeklong Vatican meeting on marriage and family Oct. 9, Catholic bishops grappled with a trend that worries many Church leaders: young couples choosing to live together rather than wed.
“We cannot ignore the fact that the number of marriages is currently declining throughout the world, both civil marriages and marriages celebrated in the Church,” Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life said as he opened the day’s discussion.
The cardinal noted the concern of many Christian parents today “whose children suffer from loneliness, remain hesitant to make a lasting commitment, or categorically reject the path that their parents themselves had embraced with joy.”
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