Pre-marriage course take-up too low says Bishop

A Catholic bishop has said that an “unacceptably low” number of couples are undertaking pre-marriage courses (PMC) run by the Church’s counselling service before their wedding day.

In a letter to all priests in his diocese, Bishop Denis Brennan of Ferns urged them to “impress on these young couples” the benefits of completing a pre-marriage course run by Accord.

Bishop Brennan also asked for more volunteers to facilitate the Accord courses as there are currently just three in the Co Wexford diocese.

Just over 20% of couples who marry in churches in Ferns complete an Accord course before getting married, the bishop said.

“This, you will agree, is unacceptably low,” he told priests in his letter, “especially in view of the fundamental importance we all attach to marriage for our church community and for the welfare of our society”.

Accord “feels it is necessary”, he said, “to ask you to do all you can to urge the couples who come to you to get married in the church(es) of your parish to do an Accord course before their wedding day”.

In 2006, 33% of the 551 couples who got married completed such a course, while just 11.4% did one in 2010. This rose to 20.7% of the 464 Catholic couples who married in the diocese in 2010.

Pre-marriage courses are not obligatory in Ferns.

“But at the same time, you will agree that the priests in our parishes are very well-placed to impress on these young couples the value and benefits of doing an Accord PMC,” Bishop Brennan said.

In addition to pre-marriage courses, Accord offers marriage counselling.

Meanwhile, only three volunteers are currently presenting the six pre-marriage courses held in Ferns each year.

“Accord feels they need a greater number of facilitators, men and women, to present these courses, so as to lighten the load on the present three presenters and also to give the new presenters the opportunity to give their own unique personal interpretation and flavour to the material that is presented in — and is common — to all Accord courses.”

Bishop Brennan has asked every priest in the diocese to suggest to Accord “a person or persons in your parish who might be suitable for the role of presenter of these PMCs”. These presenters will be subject to a selection process and those chosen will undertake a year-long training course.