Our Mission & History

Introduction

The teaching of our Catholic faith about love, marriage, sexuality, and family is beautiful and rich, but sadly many young men and women become engaged and arrive at the altar with no real understanding of true self-giving and the meaning of spousal love. Too often, the hedonistic voice of popular culture drowns out the whisperings of the Holy Spirit regarding the right use of their sexuality and what it means to be a ‘gift’ to others.

For many years, Family Honor has said that marriage preparation should begin in childhood. Our programs can help to serve as ‘remote marriage preparation’ for children and young teens, instilling in them respect for the dignity of the human person, an understanding of true self-worth, a hopeful view of chastity, and the beauty Christ-like love for another. Likewise, our programs, which are typically held in parish settings with parents and young people attending together, also help local Catholic communities to accompany these young people on their journey to adulthood.

For those diocesan and parish leaders who are looking to implement the recommendations found in Catechumenal Pathways for Married Life, Family Honor is happy to be the organization you come to for programs or training that assists in beginning remote marriage preparation!

Mission

Parents, do you need a little help to jump-start a conversation with your pre-teen about the birds and the bees? Or have you noticed your middle-school teen is getting an attitude and you don’t feel as close to him or her as you once did? Or maybe your high-school age teen is challenging you on what the Catholic church teaches?  Or perhaps you’re the parent of a young child and you’ve been surprised at the kinds of information they’re asking you about – at such an early age!!
If your answer to any of those questions is ‘yes’ Family Honor is here to help you. The mission of Family Honor is to provide a Catholic framework on the truth and meaning of sexuality, love, and family. We have 30 years of experience in developing and delivering age-appropriate, parent-empowering programs designed to give you and your child the opportunity and the language you need to talk about some of the most important topics in life. (And have fun while you’re at it!)

History

Family Honor was created in 1988 in South Carolina by parents who envisioned something better for their children in the area of sex education other than the negative and harmful approach the current culture was offering. Those moms and dads who were a part of forming Family Honor knew, as parents themselves, that they wanted:

  • programs with a clear message that living the virtue of chastity was possible, and that choosing chastity was the best way for teens to avoid situations that often lead to tragic consequences;
  • programs that not only talked about chastity, but sought to strengthen family communication and empower and encourage parents on a wide range of related important topics;
  • programs which offered a positive, hopeful approach to teaching chastity that would respect the right of parents to be the primary people who would speak to their kids about sex, love, dating, marriage and more;
  • programs that actually would include parents as participants in any programs for which they registered their teen or pre-teen;
  • programs in which Church teaching on sex, respect for life, virtue and more would be presented accurately and in an easy-to-understand format;
  • programs that would preserve modesty when talking about anatomy and fertility;
  • programs offering helpful articles, booklets, tools, and follow-up information that parents could continue to use;
  • and finally, programs that were relaxed, fun, and memorable.

Research-based

In addition to all of the above, Family Honor also wanted an approach that was evidence-based, i.e. based on what research showed was actually was most effective. It turns out that Family Honor’s family-centered, parent-empowering approach is on the right track.  In one of the largest and most significant studies ever done on adolescent risk-taking behavior, the results of a national study on 18,000 adolescents showed:

The single biggest factor in helping teens avoid risk-taking behaviors (drinking, smoking, early age of sexual debut, school truancy, drug use, suicide) is the degree of ‘connectedness’ between parent and child. The researchers defined connectedness as the sense of warmth and caring from the parent as perceived by the child. 

Presenters

Finally, Family Honor organizers also wanted the men and women who present our programs to be well-prepared, and thus we developed Understanding the Human Person, a college-level course that is the first step in training new Family Honor Presenters and which can also be used for continuing education. We also offer ‘short courses’ now as well for continuing education for our presenters and other interested adults.

Catholic Identity

Family Honor is faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.  And our programs, courses and materials are grounded in Sacred Scripture and Tradition, with emphasis on the philosophy and teaching found in Humanae Vitae, Familiaris Consortio, Deus Caritas Est and The Theology of the Body.

At a time when the truth about God’s gift of sexuality is needed more than ever, Family Honor, Inc. is here to help you and your family. Please contact us today to find out more about bringing one of our programs or seminars to your parish or diocese: 803.929.0858 or Use our Contact form to email us.

Family Honor Executive Director Brenda Cerkez and Program Presenter Vincent Weaver appeared on EWTN program, The Church Universal.

1 Resnick, MI, et al. “Protecting Adolescents from Harm: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health,” Journal of the American Medical Association, September, 1997.