US Bishops' Committee to Promote and Defend Marriage Releases Second Video

Among the strongest advocates of true marriage and the family and society founded upon them are the United States Catholic Bishops. Thank God for their clarity and their courage. Now, the faithful must take their teaching and defend marriage and the family founded upon it. The Bishops teach, we engage in political participation and Catholic action.

P>WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - Among the strongest advocates of true marriage and the family and society founded upon them are the United States Catholic Bishops. They released the following Press Release on June 15, 2011, offering outstanding additional catechetical and apologetic resources for our work in the culture.

Among the strongest advocates of true marriage and the family and society founded upon them are the United States Catholic Bishops. Thank God for their clarity and their courage. Now, the faithful must take their teaching and defend marriage and the family founded upon it. The Bishops teach, we engage in political participation and Catholic action.

*****

Bishops' Committee Releases Second Video in Defense of Marriage Initiative

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage has released the second of five videos for the promotion and protection of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Entitled Made for Life, the newly released video features real married couples reflecting on topics related to the gift of children, the indispensible place of fathers and mothers, and sexual difference.

"Our culture is one that often forgets the sacred gift of the child, and in so doing it also fails to recognize the vital importance of a mother and a father together for the life and upbringing of that child," said Bishop Salvatore Cordileone of Oakland, California, chairman of the Committee.

"In contemporary debates about the meaning of marriage, the rights and dignity of the child should be at the forefront. The video Made for Life builds on the first video Made for Each Other and invites a renewed appreciation for the child, for mothers and fathers, and for the bond between love and life in marriage-a bond only possible through the sexual difference of husband and wife. The video also addresses a real gap today in public awareness, namely, the close connection between a culture of life and a culture that promotes and protects marriage. The two cannot be separated."

Bishop Cordileone announced the release of Made for Life during his report to the body of bishops at their June 2011 meeting in Seattle. There he also announced the new name of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage, which is now the Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage. As a permanent subcommittee, it is within the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, chaired by Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana.

Made for Life is part of an educational initiative entitled Marriage: Unique for a Reason, which was launched in June 2010 with the release of the first video, Made for Each Other. The Made for Life DVD is accompanied by a Viewer's Guide and Resource Booklet for Priests, Deacons, Catechists, and Teachers. Materials are online  and are available for purchase through www.usccbpublishing.org.

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'