Pastoral guidance for cohabiting couples – suggestions for the current Polish context

Abstract

Premarital cohabitation in Poland, although still not as widespread and common as in many western countries, is becoming an attractive form of being in an intimate relationship for a growing number of young adults. This state of things – in spite of the recent, more welcoming attitude towards cohabiting couples introduced by Francis – is not fully recognised by the Polish Episcopate. The Church in Poland had to wait over two years to receive a general guideline for the application of Amoris Laetitia. Also, until now the Polish bishops have not been able to propose any systematic marriage preparation program (MP) or working document – which would offer principles on how to deal pastorally with cohabiting couples. In this article I specifically concentrate on the newest empirical research regarding the quality of cohabiting unions (prior to and after they transit to marriages) as well as on the new orientation towards those living in ‘irregular’ situations introduced by Francis. Based on these two perspectives, I make several suggestions on how to deal with the Polish cohabiting couples in the context of marriage preparation in a pastorally sensitive and at the same time effective and realistic manner.