The web site that was the occasion of these two Catholics meeting each other is singlecatholics.com. If you are interested in such things, you might want to take a look at it some time. By using that address you can get to the first page, but you cannot get to the young men and women who are posted on this web site. In order to have access you must pay $60 to get a password.

In this case I have known the woman for over ten years. She is now in her early forties, was never married, but wanted to find the right man as her spouse. A priest friend suggested that she go online and join singlecatholics.com. So she sent in her fee and got access to the men listed. As it turned out, she met a fine Catholic man her age who lived about forty miles away. They exchanged names and addresses and finally met face to face. One thing led to another and in six months they were engaged; before the year was out they were married.

Here is the way the system works. One fills out a detailed biographical sketch, listing first name only, age, occupation, marital status, favorite saint, favorite books, etc. I have seen some of these profiles and they are quite detailed; some say they love the Pope and follow the Magisterium of the Church; others say they prefer the traditional Latin Mass; others say that they want to have children and will follow the Church’s teaching on contraception, and so forth.

Some might say this is very risky. It could be, but many choices in life are risky. And it remains true: nothing ventured, nothing gained. A pastor told me recently that he knows of three couples that met on the internet and are now married; he also knows a fourth couple who plan to get married. I know another woman in her forties who is corresponding with two men who have shown some interest in her.

A young woman I know who is looking for a good husband refuses to go online. Her reason? She thinks it is not romantic enough; I guess she wants to be swept off her feet by Prince Charming. That may happen to her, but it is not likely for women who are in their late thirties or forties.

In the world in which we live, where does a serious Catholic woman find a like-minded Catholic man who wants children and a Catholic family life? In a bar? Not likely. At work? Perhaps, but, from what professional women have told me, most of the men they meet in such circumstances are either married or homosexuals. At Sunday Mass? Perhaps, but we also know that most parishes do not provide many opportunities for young men and women of marriageable age to meet and socialize.

There are several advantages for going online in search of a husband or wife.

1. Those on singlecatholics.com come from all parts of the country (in one marriage, the woman came from California and the man from Pennsylvania), so the parties involved have a much larger pool to choose from;
2. the detailed biographical sketch gives the one searching a good idea of the thinking, morals, and personality of the one he or she can contact by e-mail;
3. those in search of a Catholic spouse know in advance that the other person is a serious Catholic.

I mention this possibility here because I have met many young Catholic men and women who find it most difficult to meet a potential spouse at work or at leisure. Also, I want to suggest to pastors and priests who read this column to take a look at the web site themselves and, if they think it worthwhile, to mention it to young people they know and perhaps also put it into the Sunday Parish Bulletin. This is one way to encourage Catholic marriages and Catholic family life.