A controversial bethroal proposal

Here's a pretty controversial proposal from the magazine U.S. Catholic and two family ministry researchers who think cohabitation is OK.

What do they suggest? "Our pastoral proposal is straightforward: a return to the marital sequence of betrothal (with appropriate ritual to ensure community involvement), sexual intercourse, possible fertility, then ritual wedding to acknowledge and mark the consummation of both valid marriage and sacrament."

Archbishop of Denver Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. has a rebuttal, a la, "Whoa, hold on a minute":

"...I believe in the intelligence and good will of the authors. I also believe that their argument is bafflingly naïve. If the Church, in her reflection on the Gospel, has always taught that sex outside marriage is morally wrong, then for the Church to now bless “nuptial cohabiters” amounts to colluding in sin. Ritualizing a sinful behavior, or calling it a nicer name, does not change its substance. The very last thing we need in a society already awash in confused sexuality is a strategy for accommodating it."

His full response is at the link above.

And a caveat emptor on U.S. Catholic magazine.