The marriage of 20 cohabiting couples at the Vatican on Sunday may have been viewed as a sign of a papal shift by many Church observers but two top clergymen in Malta believe this is “no big news”.
Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna and theologian Fr Renè Camilleri were not surprised by the move as they felt it was common practice in the Church, even in Malta, to bless the marriage of cohabiting couples.
Asked whether he felt this was a sign of a more liberal approach by the Holy See, which the Church in Malta should follow, Mgr Scicluna played things down and while acknowledging that Sunday’s was a “beautiful ceremony”, he noted it was nothing extraordinary in itself. “It is standard pastoral practice, also in Malta, to invite couples not impeded according to Church law to have their union blessed by the Church,” Mgr Scicluna said.
The ceremony at St Peter’s Basilica raised some eyebrows, especially among conservative factions who argued that it endorsed cohabitation, which is not allowed by the Church’s official doctrine.
Questions were also raised about whether the Maltese Church would take a more lenient approach on cohabitation, given the example set by its leader.
“By blessing the union of couples previously cohabiting and with children, the Church was making an important statement. Her mission was not to condemn but to heal and to bless, to proclaim the beauty of marriage blessed by the Lord,” Mgr Scicluna said.
Fr Camilleri, who was appointed head of the secretariat for catechesis when Archbishop Paul Cremona took the helm of the Maltese archdiocese, held a similar view.
“This is no big news to me because a significant number of couples attending Cana Movement pre-wedding courses, organised by the Church, are effectively living together and have children,” Fr Camilleri said.
He added that in some cases these made up more than 60 per cent of the participants. In this context, he said, it was time to revise the course content as it made no sense teaching couples with children about sex before marriage.
“While there might be some exceptions, the impression that the Church in Malta is still resisting consecrating the union between cohabitating couples is wrong,” Fr Camilleri said. He noted that even though official doctrine deemed cohabitation a sin, from a pastoral perspective he could not turn his back on couples who wanted to get married.
Fr Camilleri said the reasons behind cohabitation could be purely financial. He cited the example of couples who consciously agreed to postpone their marriage to be able to finish their studies.
Ultimately, the fact that cohabiting couples were still coming forward to have their union consecrated by the Church was a positive thing for abroad marriage was going out of fashion, Fr Camilleri said.