STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

The Department defines itself first as ministry: that is, with services and programs that have faith as their foundation and Christ as their goal.

Our mission is to respond to the needs of families through the development of pastoral programs, administered through parish and community leaders, as articulated by the teachings of the Catholic Church on marriage and family concerns.
 
As part of the Secretariat for Health and Human Services, the Department exists within a wider continuum of services to families and individuals, and works in collaboration with all agencies, offices, and persons that further its mission.
 
The Department for Marriage and Family exists:
 
1. To articulate a vision of family ministry that reflects the teachings of the Catholic Church and to share in the teaching ministry of the Bishop of Cleveland.
 
2. To continue to develop and grow as a department by listening to the voices of the Church to gain an understanding of the constantly changing needs of the family.
 
3. To lead and facilitate the development of specific, effective, and professional programs of family ministry in the diocese.
 
4. To empower parishes to develop a family perspective that reflects a Christian vision of the family, understands the family and its members as it develops through life, respects the diversity of family structures and needs, and supports families in addressing their concerns.
 
5. To collaborate with other diocesan offices and agencies, with parish ministers, and with other dioceses on programs and initiatives affecting family life.
 
6. To train and certify lay leadership in family ministry and to provide resources and training for all those in ministry to engaged and married couples, the divorced and separated, older adults and their families.
 

Adopted by Advisory Council
Dept. for Marriage & Family Ministry
17 November 1997