Premarital Pastoral Care in Lithuania and Its Challenges: The Problematic Areas of Understanding the Decalogue

Abstract

Premarital pastoral care occupies an important place in the ministry of the Church and is relevant in every time period. The purpose of this article is to present the format of premarital pastoral care in Lithuania and its problematics in terms of the perception of the Decalogue. In Lithuania, the preparation for matrimony is regulated by the documents of the Universal Church and the Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference. It is carried out in the format of a programme coordinated by the Family Centre. The programme includes essential elements of Catholic family life and faith, as the Sacrament of Marriage presupposes and requires faith. An integral part of the programme of preparing for marriage is the presentation and analysis of the Decalogue in harmony with family life. An empirical study indicates that the engaged couples question some aspects of the concept of the Decalogue in the areas of Sunday celebration, the value of the truth and respect for parents. These areas generate conflicting assumptions for the engaged and are the most difficult to perceive and accept. This reveals the need for constant renewal of the premarital pastoral care and deepening of its content in search of new relevant forms.