Thursday, September 19, 2002
Florida clerics support marriage covenant
A story published today by the Florida Times-Union reports that more than 200 North Florida clergy members pledged yesterday to require premarital counseling for couples who want to be married in their churches.
About 100 bishops, priests and pastors -- including leaders of Baptist, Catholic, Episcopal and African Methodist Episcopal churches -- took turns signing a 6-by-4-foot copy of the Greater Jacksonville Marriage Covenant. Others had signed it previously.
By signing, religious leaders agree to require couples to complete a compatibility survey and at least six sessions of premarital counseling. They also agree to provide marriage enrichment programs and to train couples with strong marriages to serve as mentors for newlyweds or couples who are struggling.
Many cities have seen the divorce rate drop after adopting a covenant, said Del Palmer, Marriage Savers' Southern regional director, who attended Jacksonville's ceremony.
Palmer and faith leaders called divorce an oddly neglected scourge and a root problem of many social ills. They cited statistics that children from divorced families are more likely to commit suicide or to end up in jail or on welfare.
