{"id":1250,"date":"2009-01-07T14:54:00","date_gmt":"2009-01-07T14:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/helping-catholics-who-are-suddenly-single.html"},"modified":"2009-01-07T14:54:00","modified_gmt":"2009-01-07T14:54:00","slug":"helping-catholics-who-are-suddenly-single","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/helping-catholics-who-are-suddenly-single.html","title":{"rendered":"Helping Catholics who are suddenly single"},"content":{"rendered":"

Baltimore may be leading the way in developing a ministry for “single again” Catholics — a group that tends to be largely overlooked in our marrige-and-family-friendly faith. <\/p>\n

From the Catholic Review<\/a>: <\/p>\n

<\/a>Many couples share everything during their marriage, from a favorite restaurant to friends and, perhaps most importantly, a parish.<\/p>\n

For some, it\u2019s the parish where they were wed or had their children baptized, but a cataclysmic event in a marriage- divorce, separation and death- can change everything for a practicing Catholic.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who experience the separation of a spouse often have very painful experiences, and for some individuals who must go through a divorce they feel alienated by their friends and even their church,\u201d said Dr. Ronald J. Valenti, superintendent of Catholic schools. \u201cWe need to make an outreach so that they feel part of the faith community and not pariahs.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where the Baltimore Catholic Singles Again Council can help. Using local chapters, the council aims to be a largely independent ministry to newly single people. Some of the groups are budgeted by parishes as well.<\/p>\n

All of the chapters will assemble for a conference April 18 at Loyola College\u2019s graduate center in Columbia. There, Catholic singles will be able to discuss issues facing them and participate in workshops.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of what we\u2019re hearing is that these men and women love their church,\u201d said council president Mary Ann Leard, also a parishioner of the Church of the Annunciation, Rosedale. \u201cWe love marriage. We\u2019re just sorry it didn\u2019t work out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Leard endured her own issues when she divorced her husband of 19 years in 1986. She found comfort in the advice of several clergy and religious and eventually local groups. She turned to Friends of Mercy, a support group at Baltimore\u2019s Mercy High School for divorced, separated and widowed people.<\/p>\n

Single Again\u2019s roots, Ms. Leard said, started in 1989 with the creation of SWORD (Separated, Widowed and Divorced). The archdiocese\u2019s evangelization outreach and education offices had associations with the group, which eventually developed into Single Again.<\/p>\n

She said some people are unaware there is refuge from perceived isolation.<\/p>\n

While Single Again works inside parishes, the association between the group and the archdiocese has been \u201cloose.\u201d<\/p>\n

That bond was re-strengthened this past fall as group leaders met with Archbishop Edwin F. O\u2019Brien and other officials to talk about Single Again\u2019s work can help build bridges of understanding. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You can read more at the link<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Baltimore may be leading the way in developing a ministry for “single again” Catholics — a group that tends to be largely overlooked in our marrige-and-family-friendly faith. From the Catholic Review: Many couples share everything during their marriage, from a favorite restaurant to friends and, perhaps most importantly, a parish. For some, it\u2019s the parish…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links-r-us","category-the-people-in-the-pews"],"yoast_head":"\nHelping Catholics who are suddenly single - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/helping-catholics-who-are-suddenly-single.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Helping Catholics who are suddenly single - The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Baltimore may be leading the way in developing a ministry for “single again” Catholics — a group that tends to be largely overlooked in our marrige-and-family-friendly faith. 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