New resource readies couples By Jennifer Burke/Catholic Courier
In 2000 the Diocese of Rochester began requiring couples planning to be married in diocesan parishes to complete FOCCUS, according to Mary Dundas, diocesan coordinator of evangelization and sacramental catechesis.
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FOCCUS is a nondenominational inventory with a Catholic component, but diocesan officials were pleased to learn that the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Cloud, Minn., had created its own fully Catholic inventory, called Fully Engaged.
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the program’s various topics, which include communication, family of origin, conflict resolution, Catholic identity, finances and Catholic parenting.
Catholic identity… Catholic parenting… I know nothing more about this than what I’ve read in the article, but it sounds like a change for the better.
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It definitely sounds like a change for the better. The topics covered are definitely components of a Catholic Christian marriage.
This program coupled with Diocesan and Pastoral oversight at all parishes which are sponsors with a Marriage Preparation Team, would greatly improve engaged couples’ experiences as well as appropriately preparing them for a Catholic Christian marriage.
In another post, I commented on some of the horrible experiences relayed by other couples we know, involving a Marriage Preparation Team, which definitely was not preparing them for a Catholic Christian marriage. I recalled not having a horrible experience and relaying the married couples on the Marriage Preparation Team were seasoned and appropriate in depicting a Catholic Christian marriage.
I recall that there was an older nun present who was assigned to the Marriage Preparation Team.
It should be noted that “FOCCUS” and now “Fully Engaged” do not replace the requirement that an engaged couple also attend a “pre-cana” session. Both pre-cana and Fully Engaged are required of couples marrying in the DoR.
This Fully Engaged sounds excellent. Hopefully it will encourage those preparing couples for marriage (priests, deacons, lay staff or trained married couples) to boldly and unapologetically proclaim Catholic teaching on marriage, sexuality, procreation, contraception and pornography. Marriages will no doubt be saved; indeed, I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that souls will be saved!
The FOCCUS program was pretty decent about a decade ago when I was involved in a Pre-Cana apostolate. It’s biggest fault was that it had a “Mere Christianity” feel to it: knocking things out of the park that it covered, but left you wanting more that was specifically Catholic. This retooling sounds like a great idea to address just that weakness (if the St. Cloud folks are serious and orthodox).