Fewer Pinoys getting married in church

MANILA, Philippines – Fewer Filipinos seem to be getting married in church, and those that do tend to be older.

In an interview over Church-run Radio Veritas, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)-Episcopal Commission on Family and Life executive secretary Fr. Melvin Castro said, “There is another trend in marriages and that is, Filipinos are getting married at an older age. Before, people married while they were still young.”

Earlier, it was reported that there has been a decline in the number of people getting married in Church.

The Catholic Directory said in recent years, around 177,940 people get married annually. But so far this year, the figure is at only 166,000.

Castro admitted there are fewer couples who tie the knot in Church, preferring civil weddings instead.

He attributed this to the normally huge expense of a Catholic Church wedding.

But Castro explained that it is not the Catholic Church that requires an extravagant wedding.

“Filipinos are very particular when they get married. It should be grand otherwise they opt to just postpone it,” he said.

The CBCP official added the trend is also toward interracial marriages, with male foreigners falling in love with Filipino women.

Plus, more often than not, the men would have different religions. “There have been several instances wherein the men are either baptized or converted as Catholics. But we discourage this. If they would only ask to be converted for the sake of the marriage or the wedding and they would still follow their previous religion,” Castro said.

He also cited an increase in the number of Filipinos getting married abroad, either with a fellow Filipino or a foreigner. –Evelyn Macairan (The Philippine Star)