THE positive role of marriages in which each partner is a committed member of a different Church was the theme of Fr. John Coventry, S.J., at a conference on mixed marriage at Spode House last weekend. He suggested that such couples, by meeting in groups and exchanging views, could well forward genuine Church unity.
The 50 people who attended
the conference included partners of inter-church marriages. its main result was the decision to establish groups of such couples throughout the country to meet for mutual support and exchange of views.
As a result of last year's conference three such groups, based on Sheffield, Liverpool and London have already been set up.
BISHOPS' GUIDELINES
Bishop Mahon, Auxiliary of Westminster, spoke about the recent guidelines laid down by the English and Welsh hierarchy on mixed marriages.
He stressed that these applied more to mixed marriages generally than to marriages involving couples who are committed members of different faiths.
Also at the conference were the Anglican clergymen Canon Ronald Green and the Rev, Martin Reardon; Fr. Maurice O'Leary, secretary of the Catholic Marriage Advisory Council, and Fr. Richard Stewart, secretary of the National Ecumenical Commission.