Living Together Outside of Marriage

With more than 7.6 million cohabiting opposite-sex couples in America today, Catholic parents, the Catholic Church, and cohabiting couples need to consider this growing cultural trend and its implications. Dr. James Healy approaches this phenomenon and concern from both sociological and theological perspectives. He encourages parishes to be welcoming when cohabiting couples approach them to marry and encourage parents to remain loving in spite of their adult child’s decision to cohabitate. Msgr. Joseph Champlin offers parenting dos and don’ts and a list of relationship characteristics of many cohabiting couples. Whether it’s our friends, coworkers, children, or parents who choose to live together outside of marriage, it’s important that we as individuals and as a Church keep our hearts and doors open to them while being clear about our values and inviting them to the consider the greater good of marriage.