Cohabitation

PRE-MARITAL COHABITATION
INTRODUCTION
Premarital cohabitation is when two unmarried individuals in an intimate

relationship reside together before marriage. Because cohabitation before
marriage is a living arrangement and not a legal contract, it does not have its
rights or responsibilities regarding property ownership, insurance benefits,
death benefits, and other connected matters.
PROCEDURE
Premarital cohabitation and eventual marital dissolution: A matter of self-

selection is the title of the scholarly study I chose. The relationship between
premarital cohabitation and the durability of subsequent marriages is discussed
in this paper. It concluded that cohabitation had little to no beneficial effects
on marriage stability. I, therefore, ran a brief survey to identify my friends'
opinions on non-marital cohabitation, and as a result, I summarised their
perspectives as follows:
Love is an organic process that develops over time. However, falling in
love on its own is insufficient to bring about marriage and the creation of the
ideal Catholic family. In a sacred setting, people should be taught how to
properly select their spouses, as well as their parents and other family
members. The church should guide them to properly discern and decide. To
give people the courage to reject an unfavorable alliance, the implications of
NO should likewise be made more commonplace.
So, I read three church documents to find out what the church taught
about people living together outside of marriage. The following are key
takeaways from the documents on non-marital cohabitation.
1.1 FAMILY, MARRIAGE, AND “DE FACTO” UNIONS
Pontifical council for the family, July 26, 2000

Feast of saints Joaquim and Ann, parents of the blessed virgin mary.
Two people can live together and find a family without marrying or
forming a civil union. They are considered to be in a de facto union, and each
is the de facto spouse of the other. De facto unions are characterized precisely
by the fact that they ignore, postpone, or even reject the conjugal commitment.
De facto unions do not imply marital rights and duties, and they do not
presume to have the stability that is based on the marriage bond.
Both premarital and non-marital types of cohabitation are morally

unacceptable.
• Cohabitation contradicts the meaning of sexual relationships as the

total gift of oneself in fidelity, exclusivity, and permanency.
• Free love is opposed to conjugal love based on personal and
irrevocable covenant.
• It denies the anthropological dimensions of human love such as sexual
differences, stability, and openness to life.
• It is a threat to the common good.
• What pertains to the common good should not depend on the mere
goodwill of the people.
• It weakens the institution of marriage as the foundation of the family
community which is essential for the common good.
• It fails in respecting the right to life and in welcoming children,
providing them emotional security, and guaranteeing greater unity and
continuity in the process of their social integration and education.
• Marriage is a public commitment and it should be protected by
institutional rights, while cohabitation is only a private act that has
only individual rights guaranteed by freedom.
1.2 GRATISSIMAM SANE
1994 - Year of the family, Letter to families from Pope John Paul II
The family has always been considered the first and basic expression
of man's social nature. The family is a community of persons whose proper
way of existing and living together is communion: communio
personarum. Here too, while always acknowledging the absolute
transcendence of the Creator with regard to his creatures, we can see the
family's ultimate relationship to the divine "We". The family originates in a
marital communion described by the Second Vatican Council as a
"covenant", in which man and woman "give themselves to each other and
accept each other".
The family depends for several reasons on the civilization of love and
finds therein the reasons for its existence as a family. And at the same
time, the family is the center and the heart of the civilization of love. the
35
family is fundamental to what Pope Paul VI called the "civilization of love",

an expression that has entered the teaching of the Church. Etymologically the
word "civilization" is derived from "civic" – "citizen", and it emphasizes the
civic or political dimension of the life of every individual. But the most
profound meaning of the term "civilization" is not merely political, but rather
pertains to human culture. Created in the image and likeness of God, man has
received the world from the hands of the Creator, together with the task of
shaping it in his image and likeness. The fulfillment of this task gives rise to
civilization, which in the final analysis is nothing else than the "humanization
of the world".
1.3 EVANGELIUM VITAE JOHN PAUL II
Given in Rome, at Saint Peter's, on 25 March, the Solemnity of the

Annunciation of the Lord, in the year 1995, the seventeenth of his Pontificate
The family has a special role to play throughout the life of its members,
from birth to death. It is truly "the sanctuary of life: the place in which life-the
gift of God-can be properly welcomed and protected against the many attacks
to which it is exposed, and can develop by what constitutes authentic human
growth".119 Consequently the role of the family in building a culture of life is
decisive and irreplaceable.
CONCLUSION
The above records show that the family has a special function from birth
until death. Families have long been considered man's initial social
manifestation. Marriage is a public commitment and should be safeguarded by
institutional rights, while cohabitation is a private act with only individual
rights. It fails to respect the right to life, welcome children, provide emotional
stability, and ensure social integration and school continuity. It diminishes
marriage, which is necessary for the general welfare. Premarital cohabitation
threatens humanity, so we can't accept it. The church should intensify
activities to create a good platform for choosing partners and discerning the
ideal man or woman to start a Catholic family. I believe there will not be
discontent or divorce when families are formed in this manner, following
sufficient understanding and discernment.

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PRE-MARITAL COHABITATION

Premarital cohabitation is when two unmarried individuals in an intimate

Premarital cohabitation and eventual marital dissolution: A matter of self-

1.1 FAMILY, MARRIAGE, AND “DE FACTO” UNIONS

Pontifical council for the family, July 26, 2000

Both premarital and non-marital types of cohabitation are morally

• Cohabitation contradicts the meaning of sexual relationships as the

family is fundamental to what Pope Paul VI called the "civilization of love",

1.3 EVANGELIUM VITAE JOHN PAUL II

Given in Rome, at Saint Peter's, on 25 March, the Solemnity of the

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