TORONTO - Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body holds answers women seek from the Church, but many are unaware of its teachings.

OTTAWA - Amid challenges Catholics are facing in the area of marriage and human sexuality, the Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF) gave John Paul II’s teachings on the Theology of the Body (TOB) top billing at its third “Seminar on the Family.”

Catholic weddings have decreased 74 per cent in Canada over the past 34 years. The picture is similar in the United States and other Western countries, said Christian and Christine Meert, directors of the office of marriage and family life in the Colorado Springs diocese.

Among Catholics who choose a church wedding, 90 per cent of engaged couples are already sexually active, using artificial contraception and planning to continue using it after marriage, the couple said. They said Catholic priests and marriage preparation leaders may be reluctant to bring up the Church’s teachings on human sexuality for fear of scaring away young people.

London, Ont. - In today’s society there is a lack of meaning associated with the word love, says Damon Owens, executive director of the Theology of the Body Institute.

“When you understand love and you’re able to see this beautiful vision of… what it means to be made in God’s image and likeness, you will be thrilled,” Owens told an audience of about 50 students and alumni gathered at his God, Sex and the Meaning of Life lecture Jan. 12 at King’s University College. “You will be excited and be compelled to live and to love in the fullness and not accepting the counterfeit love the world offers.”