Food for Thought
In his 2016 apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis names domestic violence as one example of “verbal, physical and sexual violence” to which women, in particular, are subjected. He decries domestic violence and forms of enslavement as “shameful ill treatment” of women.
Sep 21, 2017
In his 2016 apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis names domestic violence as one example of “verbal, physical and sexual violence” to which women, in particular, are subjected. He decries domestic violence and forms of enslavement as “shameful ill treatment” of women.
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reports that one in three women and one in four men “experience intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner sexual violence, and/ or intimate partner-stalking in their lifetime.”
Given these statistics, pastors and parish staff would benefit from training and resources on domestic violence. “Good pastoral training is important,” Pope Francis writes in Amoris Laetitia, especially in emergency cases of domestic violence and sexual abuse.
He suggests that parishes, institutions and movements support families by hosting “meetings of couples living in the same neighbourhood, brief retreats for couples; talks by experts on concrete issues facing families, marriage counselling, home missionaries who help couples discuss their difficulties and desires, social services dealing with family problems like addiction, infidelity and domestic violence, programmes of spiritual growth, workshops for parents with troubled children and family meetings.”
Total Comments:0