The Pastoral Accompaniment of fiancées and young marriages in the Catholic Church in the light of the new document of the Dicastery for Laity, Family in Life, presented against the backdrop of former pastoral practice and documents of Magisterium

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to refl ect on the pastoral accompaniment of those preparing for marriage in the Catholic Church proposed in the latest document Catechumenal Pathways for Married Life presented in 2023 by the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. It was done against the background of previous Magisterium documents and pastoral practice in the preparation for the sacrament of marriage over the last century. In order to achieve this aim, the documents of the universal Church and the documents of the Polish Episcopal Conference dealing with this issue have been analysed, as well as the statements of individual popes. The Second Vatican Council brought a significant change in the view on the sacrament of marriage. A consequence of the Council’s reflection were the later guidelines on the manner of preparation of fiancées contained in John Paul II’s exhortation Familiaris consortio. The most recent document of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, written after the publication of Pope Francis’ exhortation Amoris laetitia, proposes significant changes in the accompaniment of fiancées and young married couples. According to the guidelines of the document, this should be carried out through the path of catechumenal initiation, the first aim of which is to bring the engaged couples closer to the Church and to awaken their faith, and only the second is direct preparation for marriage.