"Among the many blessings that God has showered upon us in Christ is the blessing of marriage,
a gift bestowed by the Creator from the creation of the human race…

U.S. Catholic Bishops, 2009 Pastoral Letter: Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan

It is a source of blessing to the couple, to their families, and to society and includes the wondrous gift of co-creating human life. 

Indeed, as Pope John Paul II never tired of reminding us, the future of humanity depends on marriage and the family."

Click Image for USCCB Marriage Initiative Website

What does marriage have to do with human dignity?

Marriage protects and promotes the dignity of men and women, the dignity of children, and the dignity of all persons in society.

First, the lifelong partnership of marriage is the only place where men and women can truly “speak” the language of sexual love – total, faithful, forever, and open to children.

Only within marriage can sexual relations mean what they are supposed to mean as an expression of self-giving love between a man and a woman (not selfish use).

​​The promises of a husband and a wife speak a high level of mutual trust and invite the confidence that sex will not be exploitative but will manifest true union and life-giving love.

​Second, marriage provides a context within which the rights of children to a mother and a father are legally protected.  Marriage also helps assure that children will be welcomed as gifts; apart from the life-long commitment of marriage, children are likely to be viewed as threats or acquired as products.

​Finally, the family, founded on marriage, is a place where a person can exist for his or her own sake (see LF, no. 11). Marriages teach society not to value persons only for their usefulness.