Prelate's Advice: Wed Before 35

MANILA, Philippines – Still single and wanting to be wed?

A senior Catholic prelate has this simple advice: Do it before you hit 35.

Retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said those wanting to get married should do it before they turn 35, saying it would be far more difficult for couples to work on their marriage if they go past that age.

“It is imprudent for old people – 35 years and above – to get married. Reason? Marriage is a blending of a couple. Old people, however, are already set in their ways of living, defined in their likes and dislikes. And above all realities, they are used to living alone!” he said in a statement.

“Too many of such marriages pitifully end up in separations, not to mention annulments,” added Cruz, head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ National Appellate Matrimonial Tribunal (CBCP-NAMT).

But getting married in teenage years, he said, is also not advisable as young people are still unprepared for something permanent such as marriage.

“The young are still volatile in their options or choices. It is either hard for them to have a lifelong happy and successful marriages. Hence, a big number of such marriages sadly fail,” Cruz said.

And since the love life of President Aquino became the focus of the media this past week, Cruz did not balk from giving his two cents worth: “At his age, the earlier he gets married, there is greater chance he has at having a successful marriage.”

That is why, Cruz agreed with Ballsy Aquino-Cruz, the Presidential sister, who appealed to the public to allow her brother to go on dates.

“I, whole heartedly, agree with the plea or request of a sister of the President to give him more time and space to meet and know women, one of whom he might actually choose as the First Lady of the Philippines,” said Cruz.

Leslie Ann Aquino, Manila Bulletin