Bishop warns of 'cataclysmic decline' in numbers getting married and consequences for kids
A bishop has warned marriage is in "cataclysmic decline" and the social consequences for children are "only beginning to be worked out".
The comments, from the Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury, Rev Mark Davies, came in his first annual mass since the lockdown in 2020.
Bishop Davies called on Catholics in the diocese to show their support for the institution of marriage, and "confidently propose the Christian vision of marriage to people as a proposal ever new".
During the address, at St Columba’s Church, Chester, Bishop Davies said marriage is at risk of effectively disappearing – pointing to statistics which show a 61 per cent decrease in the number of people getting married
He said the impact of the change, particularly on children was yet to be known, adding that it was "the most vital" of institutions in Britain, but has become more and more exceptional in recent years.
In his homily, Bishop Davies reminded couples gathered with their families to celebrate landmark wedding anniversaries and added that the promises they made to each other represented beginning of a vocation “lived from the beginning and written into the very nature of man and woman, a vocation raised by Christ to be a sacrament of salvation and held holy by the Church for 2,000 years”.
He said: “It is hard to imagine in little more than half a century the promises you made, the vocation you embraced would become more and more exceptional. So exceptional in these early years of this 21st Century that most recent statistics show a 61 per cent decrease of marriages in our land; the lowest number of couples entering marriage for almost two centuries; and the first time in our history that more children are born outside of marriage than in a married home.
"The headlines do not seem to exaggerate when they speak not merely of a cataclysmic decline but of marriage disappearing in Britain.
"The social consequences of such a loss are only beginning to be worked out, not least for the well-being of children.”
The Bishop added: “At a moment in our history when marriage is increasingly being lost sight of, the witness you have given simply by living the promises of marriage through every trial and difficulty is no small thing and today shines out more and more brightly.
"The Christian vocation of marriage stands out as an invitation to new generations to believe and set out along the same path; to have the courage to make the same awesome promises; to build a stable and loving home for their children by their very faithfulness; and with the same prayer that the Lord may protect their unity of heart and bring them to old age together.”
The mass was attended by Lloyd and Sheila Hayes of Romiley, Cheshire, who this year celebrate 70 years of marriage, having wed aged 20 and 18 respectively and going on have eight children, 23 grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.
Five other couples were celebrating 60 years of marriage, 10 were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversaries, four their 40th, three their 30th and three their 25th.
In his opening remarks, Bishop Davies observed that together the couples attending the Mass have amassed “1,275 years of marriage faithfully lived,” which he described as an “incalculable good”.
