Marriage and Family: Building the Foundation of Society
The Catholic Church teaches that marriage and family are foundational to the faith and the common good. Here's how that vision shapes the Colorado bishops' public policy priorities.
Part 2 of a 10-part series on the Colorado bishops' public policy priorities
Marriage and family are foundational to both society and the Catholic faith.
The Church teaches that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, who together as husband and wife are called to a lifelong partnership of love and may become father and mother to children.
Founded upon the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, the family is often called the "domestic church," where the home becomes the first school of virtue, prayer and moral values. Within this domestic church, parents serve as the primary educators of their children, and family members support one another in daily love to grow closer to God.
As the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains, “Parents are the principal and first educators of their children. In this sense, the fundamental task of marriage and family is to be at the service of life” (CCC 1653).
The Church teaches that marriage has two inseparable purposes: the unity of the spouses and openness to the gift of new life. Through marriage, the domestic church is built, strengthening both the family and the wider community.
The Church's Vision for Marriage and Family
The Church's teaching on marriage and family has been reaffirmed and developed through centuries of Catholic tradition.
In 1880, Pope Leo XIII issued the encyclical Arcanum Divinae Sapientiae, reaffirming the divine institution of marriage, its sanctity and its indissolubility in response to rising secularism and the legalization of divorce.
Pope Pius XI built upon this teaching in his 1930 encyclical Casti Connubii, defending the purpose of marriage and warning against the threats of secularism, divorce and birth control.
Pope St. Paul VI's Humanae Vitae (1968) further clarified the two intrinsic, inseparable purposes of marriage: the unitive, or the bond between spouses, and the procreative, or openness to transmitting new human life.
Pope St. John Paul II's apostolic exhortation Familiaris Consortio (1981) explored the family's role as the domestic church, outlining its particular mission in a rapidly changing world.
He also delivered a series of 129 Wednesday audiences between 1979 and 1984, now known collectively as the "Theology of the Body," exploring the meaning of the human person, human love and sexuality.
More recently, Pope Francis' 2016 apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia addressed contemporary marriage, family life and the pastoral care of families, emphasizing the importance of accompanying families through the realities and challenges of everyday life.
Together, these teachings present marriage and family as institutions that serve the common good and help foster human flourishing.
As the Church upholds marriage and family as integral to a healthy society, it also recognizes that family life often comes with unique challenges and suffering. Whether financial strain, infertility, separation or other difficulties, families can’t accomplish their mission alone. Both the Church and the wider community must not only defend the meaning of marriage but also support families through the realities of daily life.
Marriage and Family in Colorado
Colorado law includes measures that both support families and conflict with the Church's moral teaching on marriage and family.
Among the positive developments are several state tax credits intended to help families with the costs of raising children.
Colorado's Family Affordability Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Child and Dependent Care Expenses Tax Credit offer financial relief to qualifying families as they grow and navigate child care expenses. These benefits can provide hundreds or thousands of dollars in assistance, with many provisions designed to offer greater support to low-income families.
Such measures recognize the important role families play in society and can help provide the stability necessary for parents to care for and educate their children.
At the same time, other developments have hurt families, particularly regarding the legal definition of marriage and the rights of parents.
In 2013, Colorado enacted the Colorado Civil Union Act, allowing same-sex couples to enter civil unions. Subsequent court decisions and the U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges established the legal recognition of “same-sex marriage” nationwide.
In 2024, Colorado voters approved Amendment J, removing the state's constitutional prohibition on “same-sex marriage.” Lawmakers followed in 2025 with Senate Bill 25-014, removing additional statutory language prohibiting the same, and undermining the reality of what marriage is
More recently, parental rights have been affected by Colorado legislation, particularly in matters involving gender identity and child custody.
In 2025, more than 700 Coloradans gathered at the state Capitol to oppose a bill over concerns that it would have stripped parents of custody rights if they disagreed with their child’s professed gender identity.
Committee leadership limited testimony, effectively barring half of the attendees from voicing their concerns. Following public opposition and media attention, provisions addressing parental custody were removed from the bill before its final passage.
In 2026, lawmakers considered similar custody policies during debate over House Bill 26-1309, Abuse in Cases of Separation. The legislation was meant to address domestic violence, and the bill seemed to support good policy assisting victims of abuse. But hidden in the bill, which passed in part due to a lack of public awareness, were restrictions on parents’ rights to protect and guide their children in ordinary parenting decisions. These decisions include exercising financial oversight to ensure good habits and using “find a phone” to know where their children are located. More importantly, the law restricts a parent’s ability to disagree with their child’s professed gender identity. If a parent violates these new provisions, it would be considered “coercive control” and could affect parent custody decisions.
On the 2026 ballot are three citizen-led initiatives — Propositions 133, 134 and 135 — that will empower Coloradans to secure their parental rights, protect their children and defend their First Amendment rights of conscience and expression.
Putting the Church's Teaching into Practice
For Catholics, promoting the good of marriage and family begins not with political arguments but with relationships and personal witness.
Marriage and family can be contentious subjects in modern public discourse. Sharing the Catholic perspective requires gentleness, empathy and a practical understanding of the challenges families face.
In everyday conversations, Catholics can focus on the beauty of the Church's vision for marriage and family, using accessible examples and personal experiences to illustrate the importance of lasting commitment, mutual love and parental responsibility.
Rather than beginning with what the Church opposes, Catholics can emphasize what marriage and family contribute to the flourishing of individuals and society.
When engaging lawmakers, advocates should likewise share their own experiences and explain how specific policies affect families and children.
It is particularly helpful to focus on marriage and family as serving the common good and contributing to social stability. Lawmakers operate in the realms of public policy, economics and human flourishing, so presenting the structural value of stable families can help demonstrate why marriage and family deserve public support.
Advocacy can also focus on practical measures that assist parents in fulfilling their responsibilities, strengthen family stability and protect the rights of children.
Ultimately, the Church's vision for marriage and family invites Catholics to witness to the beauty of lifelong love, support parents in their irreplaceable role as their children's first educators and promote policies that help families flourish.
In both personal relationships and public life, that witness must remain rooted in the dignity of every human person and the conviction that strong families are essential to the common good.
