Small Christian Communities in Nairobi, Kenya, Urged to Help Members in Non-Catholic Marriages to Celebrate Matrimony

The Catholic Archbishop of Nairobi urges SCCs to provide opportunities for marriage preparation among members, noting that preparation for Church marriage is not receiving the importance it deserves in his Metropolitan See.

According to the Archbishop, a random sample of marriage instructions in ADN, for instance, had ranged from “a crash course” of two weeks to five sessions spread over one and a half months to a six-month marriage preparation program.

He says that the program had been criticized by some who could not understand why candidates for the Priesthood spend eight to ten years in formation and studies before their ordination while couples preparing for marriage can have as few as three marriage instructions before their celebration of Matrimony. 

Fr. Healey’s report indicates the grim reality of young Catholics in ADN being reluctant to make permanent, lifetime commitments.

Young Catholic couples, the expert in SCCs in the region of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) established, prefer living together for a period to “test” their relationship.

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Small Christian Communities in Nairobi, Kenya, Urged to Help Members in Non-Catholic Marriages to Celebrate Matrimony

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He says such a relationship is related to the “come we stay” arrangement, when a man and a woman begin living together before formalizing their marriage.

“For various reasons, several Catholic women want children, but not a husband and a permanent, lifetime marriage. More equality in the government marriage laws is raising new tensions and questions,” Fr. Healey’s study report reads in part.

In his Pastoral Letter dated December 2, Archbishop Anyolo emphasizes that more needs to be done in preparing couples for the Sacrament of Matrimony. He quotes Pope Francis who, in his March 2016 Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on love in the family, Amoris Laetitia, says, “Learning to love someone does not happen automatically.”

According to the Local Ordinary of Nairobi, who started his Episcopal Ministry in February 1996 as Bishop of Kenya’s Kericho Catholic Diocese, learning to love someone with the intention of marriage “is a lifelong process which we must choose to grow in each day.”

“Pope Francis advises couples not to get too invested in the consumption of material goods or the planning of the wedding day itself, inviting them instead to focus on rooting their relationship in Christ, the sacraments,” the Kenyan Catholic Archbishop says in his Pastoral Letter in which he has described the upcoming Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year as an opportunity for “renewal, mercy and solidarity.”

Archbishop Anyolo adds, “Since the time of marriage preparation is usually brief, the Holy Father Pope Francis recommends sharing quality 13 information such as the fundamental aspects of marriage, church teaching, and a basic understanding of the kerygma, or story of salvation.”

“Much of these can be done in the context of the SCCs,” the Local Ordinary of ADN says.

Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.