In 'A Future Full of Hope' we say:

"Our aim is to value more deeply the beauty of the teachings of the Catholic Church on marriage and family life. Our action is to give families the means to be aware of themselves as the ‘domestic church’ from which all are sent out on mission."

Marriage and Family Life

Marriage and family life are of vital and central importance in the life and teaching of the Catholic Church. It is the privileged place where love makes itself know (CST#491). The Bishops' Conference of England & Wales has an office for Marriage and Family Life. This Office exists to support and resource the bishops in their responsibility for marriage and family life, and in speaking out on all issues that affect families.

Bishop Bosco's message for Marriage Week

As lead Bishop for Marriage and Family Life within the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales,  Bishop Bosco MacDonald, heralds marriage as a source of stability and happiness, showing us the endless love that God has for all of us.

As we mark National Marriage Week 2025, think about the huge importance of marriage in our lives and society. In a world that can be confusing and divided, hope shines brightly especially in this Jubilee Year. And the hope of marriage is that it becomes a source of stability and happiness, showing us the endless love that God has for all of us.

For Christians, marriage isn’t just a legal agreement, it’s a special promise between husband and wife, like the covenant between God and humanity. And God’s promises are always fruitful. Pope Benedict XVI once said, ‘Marriage is a way to save ourselves and our society’, because marriage is a source of hope, strength, and new beginnings for everyone involved.

In this way, marriage is a big act of faith and love, giving us the courage to take part in God’s amazing creation – a journey of unconditional love, just like God’s love. When two people get married, they promise to take care of each other, grow together in faith, and create a home where love, respect, and understanding are the rules. We’re made to love, just as God loves us, and this love isn’t just for one person, it’s for everyone around us.

National Marriage Week is a time for all of us to think about this special sacrament and how it can change lives. It’s a chance for married couples to strengthen their bond by being kind to each other, talking openly, and sharing experiences.  And for all of us, as we celebrate the beauty of marriage this week, let’s make sure that we support and encourage couples in their journey. We can offer our contribution towards a culture that respects and values marriage, knowing that it’s the foundation for a happy and healthy society.

For people who are getting married or supporting others on their journey, may this National Marriage Week inspire us all to embrace the hope that marriage brings, not just for ourselves, but for future generations.

More resources can be found on the Catholic Bishops' Conference website: Marriage and Family Life - Catholic Bishops' Conference

Marriage

The roots of the institution of marriage lie in our nature. Male and female we have been created, and written into our nature is this pattern of complementarity and fertility. Christian teaching fills out this pattern and reveals its deepest meaning.

Enlightened by Scripture, the Catholic Church considers the family to be at the heart of God’s plan, standing at the foundation of life of the human person. A healthy family is an ‘intimate communion of life and love,’ the first natural society into which children are born and grow. As the principle place of interpersonal relationships, it is in the family that children learn their first and most important lessons. Healthy marriage and family life make a unique contribution to the wellbeing of the individuals themselves, to the life of the Church, and as a force for good in society as a whole. As the principle place of interpersonal relationships, it is in the family that children learn their first and most important lessons, in practical wisdom, virtue, social responsibility and solidarity. Jesus himself was born and lived in a family, accepting all its characteristic features. He confers the highest dignity on marriage: “In the beginning God made them male and female. Man has now to leave father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one body, so that they are no longer two but one body; let no-one separate what God has joined’ (Mt 19:4-6). The Church respects the natural right to marriage, with its characteristics of total self-giving, personal, physical and spiritual unity; fidelity and fruitfulness.

THE ACCOMPANIMENT OF MARRIAGE

The sacrament of mutual, exclusive, lifelong commitment that is marriage graces couples as they journey together in love, faith and hope. Family and community share responsibility for preparing couples for marriage and walking with them on their lifelong project of commitment to love and care for each other, in a fruitful relationship until death. The church therefore offers preparation for marriage, and opportunities for sustaining and deepening the couple’s relationship, as well as providing appropriate counselling, support and signposting for families when things go wrong.

More Information: Accompaniment of Marriage

PLANNING FOR A FAMILY

Responsible parenthood will often involve planning when to have children, God willing, and the Catholic Church believes that this should not be by means of contraception that places a barrier between the partners, or that suppresses the healthy working of the body to make the act infertile.

These actions undermine the full human meaning of sexuality and raise other medical and moral questions that should not be overlooked: the long term health implications they may have for women and the serious impact they seem to be having on the environment. In addition to this, some chemical contraceptives do not operate only by preventing contraception, but also work by preventing those embryos that are occasionally conceived from implanting. The need for effective family planning requires a different and more radical approach.

The Catholic Church advocates a reliable knowledge of the cycle of female fertility and a willingness to agree to abstain from sexual union at certain times. The last twenty years have seen great improvements in this area and Natural Family Planning is now regarded by respected medical authorities as being highly effective for those who are instructed by trained teachers and who are strongly motivated.

More Information: Family Planning

Family Life

“The Joy of Love experienced by families is also the joy of the Church.” Amoris Laetitia #1