In September 2011 Terry Prendergast, the chief executive of the Catholic charity Marriage Care, stated in The Tablet that Marriage Care?offers ?focused marriage preparation? for same-sex couples. (The Tablet?15th September 2011, Page 34).
Following a recent meeting between Terry Prendergast and representatives of the Bishops Conference of England and Wales, a spokesman of the Conference secretariat stated:
??Marriage Care was able to assure the bishops? conference secretariat that its marriage preparation service does not prepare same-sex couples for civil partnerships.?
Both statements can?t be true because they are obviously contradictory, so what is really going on at Marriage Care?
A number of possibilities present themselves:
1. Terry Prendergast was misrepresenting Marriage Care in his statement to The Tablet.
2. Marriage Care is no longer offering focused marriage preparation for same-sex couples due to the intervention of Archbishop Nichols.
3. Marriage Care is continuing to provide focused marriage preparation for same-sex couples but just not calling it marriage preparation.
The Bishops Conference statement went on to say:
?Marriage Care confirmed its counselling service is offered ?in accordance with Catholic teaching? but is open to all, regardless of sexual orientation.?
Does this mean that Marriage Care is offering counselling to homosexuals to help them realise that same-sex attraction is a disordered sexual desire that can lead to immoral acts, and the occasion of mortal sin? Is Marriage Care helping individuals carrying the burden of homosexuality to lead celibate lives? In view of Prendergast?s previous statements dissenting from the Church?s teachings this seems highly unlikely.
Regarding the meeting between Marriage Care and the Bishops conference it appears the secretariat is going along with Prendergast?s plan for this Catholic charity to separate Catholic marriage preparation from its other relationship services.
In November 2012 Terry Prendergast revealed to The Tablet the proposal Marriage Care intended to the Bishops? Conference at the meeting at the end of the month.:
?Mr Prendergast said this week that separating its marriage preparation for Catholic couples and its general relationship counselling might be a solution. He will suggest the plan at a meeting with the general secretary of the Bishops? Conference of England and Wales, Fr Marcus Stock, on 23 November. Mr Prendergast likened Marriage Care?s dilemma to that faced by Catholic children?s societies that have been required by law to consider gay couples as adoptive parents or cease doing adoption work.?We try to stay true to our principles that we won?t discriminate against anyone,? he said. ?The Jesus of the gospels behaved like that. We take our lead from him.?
The statement from the Bishops? Conference Secretariat appears to suggest that they have accepted Prendergast?s ?separation of Marriage Care?s marriage preparation from its relationship counselling because they state:
?The bishops stressed they want to work closely with Marriage Care in order to strengthen Catholic marriage preparation?.
The problem with this solution is that it maintains the situation of same-sex couples going to a Catholic charity as clients receiving relationship counselling in the name of ?Marriage Care?, giving the impression that the Church views their relationship as a ?Marriage?.
The counselling service that Marriage care provides fosters that impression. This is how their website describes their counselling service:
What is relationship counselling?
Relationship counselling is a way of helping you through times of distress or difficulty as a couple or on your own by talking to someone trained to help you explore your concerns. Sessions with a trained relationship counsellor will help you understand your relationship more clearly and support you to make changes for the better.
Why go for relationship counselling?
You may be feeling that things with your partner are not quite right and just need someone to talk to, to resolve issues early on. Or you may have more long-standing concerns or serious issues. You may wish to explore difficulties in a relationship that has now ended so that you can move forward more positively.
Either way we can offer relationship help. Some of our clients find only one or two sessions get them back on track. Others we work with benefit from more sessions.
Is counselling open to everyone?
Our counselling service is open to and welcomes everybody over the age of 16, married or not, straight or gay.
Protect the Pope comment: The statement issued by the Bishops Conference following the meeting with Marriage Care suggests they are going down the same?disastrous?route they followed with Catholic adoption services of co-operating with sinful behaviour at arms length through playing with words. Again they promote pragmatic compromise over ?defending God?s liberating truth about human sexuality.
Clearly, the compromise worked out between the Bishops Conference and Marriage Care separating Catholic marriage preparation from its relationship counselling fails Pope Benedict?s Catholic charity test. It appears to fail to meet De Caritate Ministranda decrees on the following points:
?? to the extent that such activities are promoted by the Hierarchy itself, or are explicitly supported by the authority of the Church?s Pastors, there is a need to ensure that they are managed in conformity with the demands of the Church?s teaching and the intentions of the faithful, and that they likewise respect the legitimate norms laid down by civil authorities.?
The Chief Executive is a member of the Bishops Conference?s Marriage and Family Life committee and Archbishop Nichols remains the president of Marriage Care. Therefore, the English hierarchy is promoting and supporting a Catholic charity that treats homosexual couples as being comparable to, and equal with, married Catholic couples.
In addition to observing the canonical legislation, the collective charitable initiatives to which this?Motu Proprio refers are required to follow Catholic principles in their activity and they may not accept commitments which could in any way affect the observance of those principles.
By offering relationship counselling to homosexual couple on exactly the same terms as Catholic married couples Marriage Care has made a commitment that affects its observance of Catholic principles, especially sexual morality.
? 2. To ensure an evangelical witness in the service of charity, the diocesan Bishop is to take care that those who work in the Church?s charitable apostolate, along with due professional competence, give an example of Christian life and witness to a formation of heart which testifies to a faith working through charity. To this end, he is also to provide for their theological and pastoral formation, through specific curricula agreed upon by the officers of various agencies and through suitable aids to the spiritual life.
Marriage Care?s acceptance of couples in same-sex relationships as if they were the same and equal to married couples undermines the Church?s evangelical witness by its failure to be an example of Christian life, as expressed in the Sacred Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Art. 11. ? The diocesan Bishop is obliged, if necessary, to make known to the faithful the fact that the activity of a particular charitable agency is no longer being carried out in conformity with the Church?s teaching, and then to prohibit that agency from using the name ?Catholic? and to take the necessary measures should personal responsibilities emerge.
By accepting this pragmatic compromise proposed by Marriage Care the Bishops Conference is failing to make known to the Catholic faithful of this country that the activity of Marriage Care is not being carried out in conformity with the Church?s teaching. Basically, they are failing to tell Catholic couples who approach Marriage Care that their marriage preparation is being carried out by a Catholic charity that is not acting in accord with Church teaching.
Unless Marriage Care publicly disowns Terry Prendergast?s previous statements dissenting from the Church?s teaching and confirms that it is counselling clients with homosexual attraction according to the Church?s teaching and helping them lead celibate lives, then the Bishops Conference should enact art. 11 of?De Caritate Ministranda.
http://www.marriagecare.org.uk/about-us/faqs/relationship-counselling-faqs/
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Source: http://protectthepope.com/?p=6153
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