The President of the Council, Msgr. Vincenzo Paglia, spoke at the International Day of the International Federation of Marriage Preparation Centres (FICPM), in Assisi, on the theme: “Do we make peace?” (2-5 May).

«In a world of crisis around marriage and the family, praise and a special pastoral attention are due to those who are engaged in preparation courses with a choice for life, which must be fully conscious and responsible and not dictated only by the intensity of feelings but also by the sincere will of a commitment without time limitations», Msgr. Paglia said. The President also talked about the new Handbook for marriage preparation, on which the the Pontifical Council for the Family is presently working.
 

The Federation of Centres of preparation for marriage was created in the fifties with the objective of bringing together Christian couples and priests who devote themselves to accompanying of young couples up to the celebration of the sacrament of marriage and the realization their family project, according to the values of Christian ethics: love, loyalty, freedom, indissolubility and fruitfulness. The Presidency of the Executive Committee was recently assumed by the French couple Thérèse and Ian Steenbergen, when the previous President-Couple, Patty and Michel Bingen from Luxembourg, was elected as the FICPM’s representatives to the Holy See. The assistant general and spiritual father is Juan Gutierrez Cuevas.