“The political community has a duty to honor the family, to assist it, and to ensure especially:
- The freedom to establish a family, have children, and bring them up in keeping with the family’s own moral and religious convictions;
- The protection of the stability of the marriage bond and the institution of the family;
- The freedom to profess one’s faith, to hand it on, and raise one’s children in it, with the necessary means and institutions;
- The right to private property, to free enterprise, to obtain work and housing, and the right to emigrate;
- In keeping with the country’s institutions, the right to medical care, assistance for the aged, and family benefits;
- The protection and security of health, especially with respect to dangers like drugs, pornography, alcoholism, etc.;
- The freedom to form associations with other families and so to have representation before civil authority.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2211.
Marriage and Family Life Offices
Marriage
“The personal and reciprocal ‘yes’ of the man and the woman in marriage makes room for the future, for the authentic humanity of each of them. At the same time, it is an assent to the gift of new life.”
-His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
Marriage, defined as the union of one man and one woman, is closely tied to the welfare of children, the well-being of the family, and the health of the nation.
Marriage Resources
Archdiocese of Boston- Marriage Enrichment
Retrouvaille
Retrouvaille is a program that helps Catholic couples through difficult times in their marriages. The program is designed to provide the tools to help couples get their marriages back on track, giving them the opportunity to rediscover one another and examine their lives together in a new and positive way. For more information visit:
Parental Rights & Sexuality Education
Who Will Teach Your Child About Life and Love?
As individuals, parents, and members of society, we all want what is best for our young people. With respect to sexuality, we would like to protect them from untimely pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. We would like to help them avoid meaningless sexual relationships and instead, to seek and find a true and lifelong love.
As Catholics, we further believe that our children are a precious gift from God, and that He has entrusted to us, their parents, not only the primary responsibility for providing for their well-being, but also to teach them the spiritual values which will enable them to find fulfillment in life. These include the values given by God to guide young women and men with respect to sexual love. We believe that:
- Human sexuality is meant to reflect the faithful love of God in marriage.
- Human sexuality is the means by which new life comes into the world.
- Human beings are made in the image of God, and are to be protected from conception to natural death.
“The right of parents to choose an education in conformity with their religious faith must be absolutely guaranteed.”
Pope Saint John Paul II
Legislative Action
- MCC Testimony on “An Act relative to Healthy Youth”, 2017 (pdf).
- MCC Testimony on “An Act relative to Parental Notification”, 2017 (pdf).