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California Diocese Celebrates Dozens of Convalidations Under 'Radiate Love' Campaign
Confirmed
In Short: The Diocese of San Jose, California, has launched a landmark convalidation initiative under the California bishops’ 'Radiate Love' campaign, led by Bishop Oscar Cantú. The initiative has seen dozens of couples enter into the sacrament of matrimony over the past few months.
Soto explained, “We adapted the title 'Radiate Love' because it was used by the California bishops as a way to promote marriage and family in 2024-2025.”
Volunteer mentors Veronica and Richard Wildanger, who had their own civil marriage convalidated 22 years ago, joined the task force after being approached by Soto.
Veronica Wildanger said, “The fact that the diocese offered it up, all of a sudden it was like someone stretching a hand out and saying, here, just hold my hand and we’ll guide you through every step.”
Throughout the program, organizers and mentors emphasized the theology of sacramental marriage as an unbreakable covenant rather than a mere social agreement.
Richard Wildanger told EWTN News, “When you bring God into it, this is now a covenantal marriage, not sort of a contractual marriage, but a sacramental marriage.”
Originally planned as a small pilot program, the initiative received a massive swell in interest from local families seeking to place Christ at the center of their marriages.
In related news, California has officially banned child marriage, with Governor Gavin Newsom signing legislation to end the practice that was still legal in 32 US states.
Survivors and campaigners celebrated the passage of Bill AB-1267, establishing 18 as the minimum legal age of marriage without exception.
Equality Now and Unchained At Last have been working for years to have child marriages banned in California and across the United States.
The vast majority of child marriages involve girls wed to adult men, and advocates argued that, as the U.S. and California supreme courts have noted, abortion (and, by the same logic, medical care) is time-sensitive, while marriage is not.
Background
The Diocese of San Jose, California, has launched a convalidation initiative as part of the California bishops’ 'Radiate Love' campaign, aimed at strengthening marriages and bringing couples closer to their faith.
What's confirmed
- Volunteer mentors Veronica and Richard Wildanger, who had their own civil marriage convalidated 22 years ago, joined the task force after being approached by Soto.
- Throughout the program, organizers and mentors emphasized the theology of sacramental marriage as an unbreakable covenant rather than a mere social agreement.
- Originally planned as a small pilot program, the initiative received a massive swell in interest from local families seeking to place Christ at the center of their marriages.
- In related news, California has officially banned child marriage, with Governor Gavin Newsom signing legislation to end the practice that was still legal in 32 US states.
- Survivors and campaigners celebrated the passage of Bill AB-1267, establishing 18 as the minimum legal age of marriage without exception.
- Equality Now and Unchained At Last have been working for years to have child marriages banned in California and across the United States.
- The vast majority of child marriages involve girls wed to adult men, and advocates argued that, as the U.S. and California supreme courts have noted, abortion (and, by the same logic, medical care) is time-sensitive, while marriage is not.
What's still developing
- In response, the Diocese of San Jose, California, led by Bishop Oscar Cantú, has launched a landmark convalidation initiative under the California bishops’ “Radiate Love” campaign, witnessing dozens of couples enter into the sacrament of matrimony over the past few months.
- Members of the Radiate Love Task Force pose with Jose Soto, center-left, and Bishop Oscar Cantú, center, with task force mentors Richard and Veronica Wildanger pictured on the far right. | Credit: Oliver Tapia/Diocese of San Jose The initiative began after the director for Adult Spirituality and Family Life for the Diocese of San Jose, Jose Soto, noticed how many couples attending weekly Mass with their children refrained from Communion due to their marital status.
- Keeping up with your California representatives felt impossible before.
- It was March when a group of California lawmakers decided they’d broach a sticky topic: child marriage.
- Perhaps even more surprising, two influential groups in Democratic politics — the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood — have historically staunchly supported the law.
- LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Dylan Sprouse and Barbara Palvin have welcomed their first child, a baby girl, after nearly three years of marriage.
- Historically, child marriage was permitted nationwide; however, legal frameworks are evolving, as 32 states still allow minors to marry under various conditions.
- Close-up of a woman's hands in chains while holding a bouquet to represent child marriage (Image courtesy: Unchained At Last) (Catch all the US News, UK News, Canada News, International Breaking News Events, and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily International News Updates.
- In 2023, the United Nations Human Rights Committee specifically called on the U.S. to prohibit marriage under 18.
- Limited legal rights of minors in California leave them unable to protect themselves from forced marriage.