The head of the Polish Episcopate has said that couples living together prior to marriage are committing 'self-mutilation of their love.'

Bishops during the opening Mass of the Extraordinary Synod of the Bishops in Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, 05 October 2014. EPA/OSSERVATORE ROMANO

Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki made the comments as he departed for the Extraordinary Family Synod, which opened at the Vatican on Monday.

“Among the negative phenomena that we are observing today, we notice above all the growing number of de facto unions, 'trial marriages' that are often met not only with silence, but sometimes with the approval of parents and grandparents,” the archbishop told the Nasz Dziennik daily.

“In some dioceses, as many as 80 percent of engaged couples who are preparing to enter into the sacrament of marriage have already lived together beforehand,” he reflected.

The archbishop said that this often occurred owing to “the lack of a positive experience in the family home.”



Gender role problem

Meanwhile, Archbishop Gadecki warned that encouraging boys to clean up after themselves so as to subvert gender stereotypes could have dangerous consequences.

“Some parents like to teach boys that they should clean up after themselves, and not wait until girls do it for them.”

The archbishop suggested that such leanings should be treated with caution, because “parents often do not realise” that same-sex partnerships are also championed under the banner of “overcoming stereotypes.”

The Roman Catholic Church in Poland has consistently criticised Gender Studies, and the subject became so hotly discussed in 2013 that gender was declared 'buzzword of the year.' (nh)



