Polish episcopate prepares unified rules for premarital courses — RMF24

The Polish Bishops' Conference is working on introducing nationwide standards for preparing couples for a church marriage. The new rules are intended to prevent an overly superficial approach to preparing engaged couples for the sacrament of marriage, RMF24 reports.

There are no uniform rules yet

Currently, Poland has no unified requirements regarding the duration and format of premarital courses. Canon law obliges pastors to prepare engaged couples for marriage, but does not specify how long this should last. Different dioceses offer short weekend meetings, as well as multi-week classes or online courses.

For example, the “Joy and Hope” programme in the Archdiocese of Warsaw includes two in-person meetings and five assignments in electronic format. The issue of new standards was discussed during the bishops' June plenary meeting in Łomża as part of their position on family ministry.

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The Vatican model may serve as a reference point

The head of the Polish Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda, believes that a few hours or one short meeting are insufficient to prepare for one of life's most important decisions. According to him, not only the duration of the training matters, but also its quality and range of topics, including relationships, faith, sexuality, parenthood, responsibility and conflict resolution.

The new standards may be aligned with the model proposed by the Vatican's Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. Its document provides for an approximately one-year initial stage of preparation, which should conclude with an engagement, several months of direct preparation for marriage, and accompaniment of spouses for two to three years after the wedding. The Polish bishops' proposals are to be presented to the Pope during an October meeting at the Vatican.