Marital Difficulties

For information and answers to questions about Catholic Teaching on divorce, remarriage, or the annulment process, as well as for resources, please click. This information is from our Tribunal office, 717-657-4804 ext. 304 or Email 

The word “Retrouvaille” is a French word meaning rediscovery. The program offers tools for couples in struggling or deeply strained marriages to rediscover a loving marital relationship. Thousands of couples in unloving relationships, separation, and even divorce have successfully overcome their marital problems and recovered a loving relationship by attending this program.

The Retrouvaille program consists of a weekend experience combined with a series of optional but strongly recommended post-weekend sessions over three months. It provides the tools to help put your marriage in order again. The main emphasis of the program is on communication in marriage between husband and wife. It will give you the opportunity to rediscover each other and to examine your lives together in a new and positive way.

Retrouvaille weekends are held twice a year in the Diocese of Harrisburg.  For more information please see the Retrouvaille website. Click here to register online.

The Family Ministries Office maintains a list of over 30 Catholic counselors throughout the diocese who are able to see married couples, families, and individuals.  This list includes information on where each counselor is located, what types of clients they serve, whether they take insurance, etc.  To obtain a copy of this directory please email the Family Ministries Office directly.  All of the information on the directory is public information so clients can contact these counselors directly and discretely.

In addition, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Harrisburg (CCDH) operates counseling offices in four different locations:  Harrisburg, Lancaster, Abbottstown, and York.  All of the counselors are licensed and professionally trained and can address issues ranging from marriage problems, mental health, parenting, pregnancy, substance abuse, and other related problems.  They can also refer to other services in the surrounding community when needed.  Counselors with Catholic Charities may not themselves be Catholic.

Any individual or family is eligible for counseling – services are offered without regard to religion, race, gender, age, condition or ability to pay.  All counseling services are based on a sliding fee schedule, and each case is determined individually.  No one is denied service based on their inability to pay.  To contact Catholic Charities please visit their website for the location nearest to you, or call 717-657-4804.

Beginning Experience is a ministry for the separated, divorced and widowed, rooted in the Catholic Church, serving people of all faiths. It offers hope for a new beginning, a sense of community, and an opportunity for healing among those you can trust – people who have experienced a similar loss. During the weekend, a team of adults who have experienced the loss of a spouse will lead participants through a series of presentations, private reflections, and small group sharing.