The importance of the sacrament of matrimony in the upbringing children in light of Amoris Laetitia : Case study in Holy Rosary Parish

Abstract

The Church has the obligation to administer the Sacrament of Matrimony to those who are called to family life as their vocation and to teach them as parents the importance of this sacrament in upbringing children both in moral, spiritual and social aspect of life. The children are the future leaders of both the Church and the civil society. The researcher examined the importance of Sacrament of Matrimony in upbringing children in the family based on Vatican II, which declares that “ Parents must be recognized as being primarily and principally responsible for the education of their children especially in faith as quoted by St. James chapter 2:14-26 “faith without work is dead “. Moreover some parents though they had received the Sacrament of Matrimony they sometimes forget about their responsibility of grooming children in their good moral, spiritual and social conduct as part of the growth as noted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (cf. C.C.C. no. 2206) “the family is a privileged community called to achieve a sharing of thought and common deliberation by the spouses as well as their eager cooperation as parents in the children’s upbringing”. The Church since Vatican II has called for an active involvement of both parents to provide holistic education to their children however some parents need to be constantly reminded of their obligation by the Church. It is also recommended that parents need to be well-informed about the importance of Sacrament of Matrimony in upbringing of children in the family. The various ways in which the Church educate the parents on the importance of Sacrament of Matrimony in upbringing children should be effective to make parents understand the deeper meaning of Sacrament of Matrimony. In this academic project the researcher has presented the contribution of Sacrament of Matrimony in upbringing of children, the challenges facing both the wedded parents and the unwedded parents, ways in which the Church can educate the parents on the importance of Sacrament of Matrimony and suggesting some of the ways which makes this various means effective. This study has been carried out in Holy Rosary Catholic parish in Guru Archdiocese and it covers the political boundary of the Acholi Sub-Region. Chapter two analyzed the already available literature in relation to the topic. In Chapter three explained the methodology the researcher employed. He used four methods in getting information namely: library research, questionnaire, interviews and observation. The group targeted are Clerics, workers in the Parish of Holy Rosary Catholic Church, the laity, from all age groups. Specifically lay leaders of associations, Parish council members and ordinary Christian. Those in the Sacrament of Matrimony were given special attention. In this research the two methods of quantitative and iv qualitative methods were applied in this study. Chapter four is all about presentation and research findings, Chapter five involved in the Summary and discussion of the findings, implications and limitations of the study. Chapter six comprised of Conclusions, recommendations and areas of further research.