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Catholic theology of sexuality, like Catholic theology in general, is drawn from "natural law",[1] canonical scripture, divine revelation, and sacred tradition, as interpreted authoritatively by the magisterium of the Catholic Church. Sexual morality evaluates sexual behavior according to standards laid out by Catholic moral theology, and often provides general principles by which Catholics can evaluate whether specific actions meet these standards.
The Catholic Church teaches that sexual intercourse has a two-fold unitive and procreative purpose;[2] According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "conjugal love ... aims at a deeply personal unity, a unity that, beyond union in one flesh, leads to forming one heart and soul",[3] since the marriage bond is to be a sign of the love between God and humanity.[4]
Because Catholics believe God found everything he created to be "very good",[5] the Catholic Church teaches that the human body and sex must likewise be good. Every person is created in the image of God and therefore has great dignity including their sexuality.[6] Sexuality is not something that exists with purely biological purpose defined by personal preference; rather, it is an intimate nucleus of the person that spiritually is designed by God to unite man and woman as one-flesh - not because man and woman preferred it this way, but because God designed and created woman to be equal but different from man. Genesis describes the man’s official companion being made from a bone of his bones and the flesh of his flesh.[7]
In cases in which sexual expression is sought outside marriage, or in which the procreative function of sexual expression within marriage is "deliberately frustrated" (e.g., the use of artificial contraception), the Catholic Church considers them a grave sin.[8] According to the Catechism, among what are considered sins against chastity are masturbation, fornication, pornography, and homosexual practices.[9] Additionally, "adultery, divorce, polygamy, and free union are grave offenses against the dignity of marriage".[10]
In the history of Catholic Church, there have been significant differing opinions on the nature of the severity of various sexual sins. In the present, there exists still wide opinions by theologians and much of the laity on official teaching on sexuality.
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed.). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2019. Paragraph 1954.
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed.). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2019. Paragraph 2369.
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed.). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2019. Paragraph 1643.
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed.). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2019. Paragraph 1617.
- ^ Genesis 1:31
- ^ ""Love and Sexuality", USCCB". Archived from the original on 2019-07-16. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
- ^ "Pontifical Council for the Family. "The Truth and meaning of human sexuality", §3, December 8, 1995". Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
- ^ Francis J. Connell (8 October 1939). "Birth Control: The Case for the Catholic". The Atlantic.
However, when husband and wife deliberately and positively frustrate the procreative purpose of sexual intercourse, they pervert the order of nature and thus directly oppose the designs of nature's Creator. And since the reproductive function is so vital to the upkeep of the race, and since any exception to this law would be multiplied indefinitely, every act of contraceptive frustration is a gravely immoral act, or, in Catholic terminology, a mortal sin.
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed.). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2019. Paragraph 2396.
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed.). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2019. Paragraph 2400.