Supporting Marriage and Family

Gail Godfrey looks at the role of The John Paul II Centre for Family and Life in supporting marriages.

The John Paul II Centre for Family and Life in Brisbane was established in 2007 to focus on marriage and family life. The Centre produces a directory of services and seeks to support initiatives at parish and deanery level that support marriage and family and aims to be a reference point for volunteer groups or movements working in this domain. We aim build friendly and interactive networks of people from across the parishes to bring groups together from different parts of the Brisbane Archdiocese, as representatives for consultation, formation, mutual support and communication back to their parishes regarding marriage and family events.

From this perspective then, the JPII Centre is keen to source and support the formation and education of marriage counselling in a Catholic context. In order for tertiary institutions to offer such formation to catholic marriage counselors, is a specific course or part of a course required for this formation? If so, does this mean an integration of philosophy, psychology and catholic theology for such counselors?

We know that traditional/secular counseling techniques can assist those in trouble but true healing comes from faith through the spiritual source. Healing is evidenced through the integration of solid relationship counselling theory and clinical research methods with Sacred Scripture, the holy Catholic faith, and the love and mercy of God.

We are on the cusp of a great opportunity – simply by having this discussion and working through ideas reminds me of the story of the five loaves and two fish as an example of the long-held Catholic belief that grace builds on nature and that God waits to see the choices we make and then adds to the work that we are doing.

Perhaps one choice is to consider offering education/formation to experienced counsellors while forging a path for new students entering a tertiary degree specifically designed for Marriage Counselling and Family Life in a Catholic context.

Gail Godfrey

Mission Development Officer

JPII Centre for Family and Life