Friday, November 3, 2000
Bishop urges church ceremony for couples who
divorce
A story published today by Reuters reports that a bishop in
the north German city of Hanover suggested on Friday that churches introduce a special
religious end-of-marriage ceremony to help people deal with the pain of divorce.
"A lot of people have problems of conscience after divorce. A separation ceremony
would help them and their
children cope with it," Margot Kaessmann, a bishop for the German Protestant church,
told the daily newspaper guild.
Kaessmann suggested the whole family would meet in church to renounce the marriage vows.
"I think marriage is a wonderful thing. But I think it's important that we can also
tell God when we've failed," she told the newspaper.
Thursday, November 2, 2000
One-third of British will never marry
A story published today by the Daily Express reports that
more than one third of adults in Britain are destined never to marry, according to an
official study of family life in the 21st century.
The report, called The Family, predicts that by 2011, 39 per cent of men and 31 per cent
of women in the population will never marry.
However, the number of people living together will double in the next 20 years from the
current figure of 12 per cent. So it is likely that within the next decade most children
will be born outside marriage.
The Government last night refused to comment in detail but Tory leader William Hague
turned marriage into a major election issue with a key speech in which he called it
"the essential building block of a stable society".
He argued that marriage was an institution which "helped children to succeed in
school, that cut crime, increased individual happiness and helped knit neighbourhoods
together".
Dorit Braun, chief executive of Parentline Plus, a charity which provides help and
information to parents, warned politicians not to "stigmatise" children who grow
up outside marriage.
She said: "There is a role for the State and politicians in looking at the
circumstances likely to make it easier for families to do their best for children.
|
