Cana counselled nearly 1,000 couples last year

A total of 1,442 engaged couples attended the Cana Movement's courses last year when 973 couples made use of its counselling service, 700 of whom for relationship problems.

But the origins of the movement, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this month, were much humbler, its director, Fr Louis Camilleri, recalled.

Over the last half a century, the Cana Movement has developed and expanded its services from counselling sessions for couples in difficulty and meetings for engaged couples to setting up another seven support groups targeting lonely and separated persons, infertile couples and parents of stillborns or premature babies, among others.

The movement is considering setting up a support group for unmarried single mothers, who are on the rise, and intends to start providing a counselling service for the often traumatised children of separated parents.

The movement receives numerous requests for counselling services from parishes but it is not yet in a position to provide them, all of the 20 volunteers and two part-time counsellors being occupied, Fr Camilleri said. The idea is to train more of them.

The movement has 900 volunteers but requires more money for counselling, he said, appealing to the civil and ecclesiastical authorities.

The counselling that the Cana Movement offers is in big demand and an evaluation of the service has yielded positive results, showing that the those who make use of the service are satisfied, Fr Camilleri pointed out. The movement has two psychologists at the moment but is in the process of engaging another six part-timers.

As part of its anniversary celebrations, a thanksgiving Mass will be said by Archbishop Joseph Mercieca at St John's Co-Cathedral, in Valletta tomorrow.

Couples who got married last year are invited to attend and each will individually meet the Archbishop after Mass.

The Golden Jubilee is also being marked by a talk on Understanding The Changes In Contemporary Marriage by renowned psychiatrist and family expert Jack Dominian.

Dr Dominian is the author of numerous papers and 32 books on marriage, sex and love in relation to Christianity and the Roman Catholic Church in particular.

He will meet psychiatrists, counsellors and those interested in family therapy to discuss Understanding Marital Breakdown at the headquarters of the Malta Federation of Professional Associations in Gzira on January 24 at 6 p.m.

Dr Dominian will also be the keynote speaker at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, St Julians, on January 25 at 6.30 p.m.

Assistant director Joseph Mizzi said Cana's Golden Jubilee was not only an opportunity to look back at what had been achieved and to thank those involved but also to look ahead at what needed to be done to address the challenges couples face and to remain avant-garde and offer more effective services to families, considered to be the "greatest treasure of Maltese society".