US Bishops launch media campaign to strengthen marriage

Denver, Colo., Jun 29, 2007 / 08:00 am

The U.S. bishops launched a national media campaign to promote healthy marriages and to convey the meaning and value of married life for the Church and society.

The campaign, directed at all couples, not just Catholics, was launched Wednesday in Denver, reported the Rocky Mountain News.

"Marriage is the foundation of the family; the family in turn is the bedrock of society," Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver told about 250 people at the Adams Mark Hotel for a meeting of the Marriage and Family Life Committee. "Both are necessary for the good of society. When either institution weakens, all of us suffer the consequences."

“The church seeks to do all it can to encourage what goes into a solid marriage: prayer, fidelity, commitment, and the little things that count,” said Archbishop-elect Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, chairman of the Marriage and Family Life Committee, in a separate statement. 

The campaign includes 30- and 60-second television and radio clips in which married couples on the street spontaneously answer the question, “What have you done for your marriage today?” The clips have been offered as public service announcements to 2,500 broadcast, cable and radio outlets nationwide.

The campaign was organized as part of the U.S. bishops’ national pastoral initiative for marriage. It is coordinated by the U.S. bishops’ committees on communications and on marriage and family life.

"It's not a particularly religiously focused campaign," said Archbishop Chaput. "What we are really trying to do is encourage all people to be reflective about their marriage."

The conclusions from a series of focus groups, held in preparation for the campaign, were the importance of commitment and the need to do something every day to nurture one's marriage.

For more information or for marriage resources, go to: www.foryourmarriage.org