Master of Arts in Theology

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Browsing Master of Arts in Theology by Author "Koroma, Emmanuel Batholomew"

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    Pastoral Challenges in Marriage and Family Life: A Case Study of Parenting in Holy Cross Catholic Parish in Dandora, Archdiocese of Nairobi-Kenya
    (Tangaza University College/Duquesne University, 2017) Koroma, Emmanuel Batholomew
    The concept of marriage is very important and a concern of the society. For the society to continue to exist, its members have to marry and procreate, and this marry can be only between a matured man and a woman. Marriage between a man and a woman has Divine Origin. It was ordained by God that a man and a woman must come together in marriage to bring forth children. This is clearly captured in the bible that God is the Author of marriage and family, and He instituted it from the beginning of creation. In this account, God created everything including Adam, the first man on earth. However, there was no one like Adam, as a result of this God created Eve, Adam‟s wife as help mate. It is worth noting that God‟s observation that it was not good for Adam to stay alone led Him to the creation of his helper, Eve. She was the suitable companion to Adam because from Adam‟s own self, God created Eve. Adam‟s exclamation at the creation of Eve clearly shows the sexual attraction between men and women. (Cf. Gen. 2:18; 22-24) This particular Biblical passage refers to marriage and it means that it was instituted my God. Marriage ought to bring about together both the husband and the wife in love and with the primary aim of procreation. In this regard, the Council Fathers put it that: “Married love is an eminently human love because it is an affection between two persons; it can enrich the sentiments of the Spirit and their physical expression with the unique dignity and ennoble them as a special elements and sign of the friendship proper to marriage.” (GS, 49) Even though the institution of marriage is of Divine Origin, currently marriage and family life is under siege due to the fact that there are so many pastoral challenges in which this institution is face with like infidelity, parenting, alcoholism, separation, divorce and remarry among others. In this light, the Church cannot be silence seeing her children under going such challenges in their marriages. This is why I have set out to examine the causes of one of the above challenges, specifically parenting in order to give a pastoral recommendations and suggestions for families, pastors and pastoral agents in the Holy Cross parish Dandora which will help them in their marriage vocation and pastoral ministry. In the theological studies in Tangaza, the pastoral agent was exposed to courses which discuss marriage and family life such as: Moral Theology, Pastoral Theology, Social Doctrine of the Church, Sacramentology IV: Matrimony and Holy Orders, Catechetics, Sexuality, Marital and Family Morality, Canon Law: Marriage Processes, and Marriage and Family Pastoral Ministry. These made him also to be exposed to many Church documents dealing with marriage and family life like: On Human Life (Humanea Vitae), The Family in the Modern World (Familiaris Consortio), The Second Vatican Council, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (Part Two: Chapter Five, which is entitled: The Family, the Vital Cell of Society), and many others. All these have raised my interest and concern for marriage and family life.