From the Dec. 11 Pastoral Statement on Marriage, Sexuality and Chastity by Cardinal William Keeler, archbishop of Baltimore:

“Cohabitation, the practice of an unmarried man and woman living together, is one of the more common pastoral issues we face today. & The moral case against cohabitation is clear. One does not try out a permanent commitment. There is no statistical evidence that testing produces any guarantees. If anything, such arrangements undermine the will and freedom to make permanently binding commitments. Cohabiting for the sake of finances puts practical matters in front of moral, sacramental, and spiritual ones.

“But another obvious reason stands against cohabitation. It is the symbol of the threshold, of the marriage bed, of setting up house. These lose meaning unless a public exchange of vows precede them.

The exchange of vows in church, the rings, the departure together when the couple has arrived separately — all these declare that the act of moving into a home is a mutual gesture of commitment. & Mere cohabitation deprives these gestures of any symbolic weight.

“Cohabiting couples should be instructed to live apart before marriage for the sake of their own spiritual and marital integrity. & Rejecting cohabitation, in a way, is the gateway to a renewed experience of chastity.”