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Our Mission
To celebrate,
cultivate, and nurture the sacred gifts of life, relationship, and
community.
In response
to God's plan of Salvation, as revealed through
the "Domestic Church," wherein we transmit and express our faith: We,
the members of the Diocesan Family/Respect Life Office, join together to
promote the sanctity of families throughout our diocese, offering them
opportunities to enhance their knowledge of the Church and its teachings, to
build and heal relationships and develop their capacity to support and nurture
each other, thereby expanding a culture of life which respects the dignity of
every human being.
In
Celebrating...
To
promote
the family among our Diocese to achieve
understanding, sharing, and support that will lead to a common vision and unity for our ministry.
To create diverse opportunities for our families and enable them to
invest themselves in the mission.
In Cultivating...
To
provide
a more knowledgeable and responsive environment to address the needs of the
family as a gifted "Domestic Church."
To empower
families throughout the Diocese to connect in a meaningful way at various
levels within our parishes.
To identify opportunities to advocate for all families, especially those
unable to speak
for themselves.
To invite
and involve all pastoral ministers to learn about and implement a family
perspective.
To commit
ourselves to working closely with the National Association
of Catholic Family Life Ministries (NACFLM).
In
Nurturing...
To enhance
education, formation, spirituality, and
the support mechanisms available and to share family programs and resources among parishes.
To commit ourselves
to respond in a timely fashion to the needs of parishes.
Our
History
The
Office of Family Life/Respect Life was officially begun by Bishop Francis J. Mugavero in
1981 and was originally under the direction of Msgr. Vincent Breen, the Superintendent
of Schools. Although our programs were under the heading Family Life, the initial
focus of our ministry was marriage preparation, known as Pre-Cana. The first Pre-Cana
programs were Saturday classes held throughout the Brooklyn and Queens boroughs that
were facilitated by volunteer couples.
While still continuing to strengthen
our marriage preparation program, our ministry has consistently expanded to meet the
needs of all members of the faith community.
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