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Catholic Sexual Ethics: A Summary, Explanation, & Defense
In recent years, several new and important documents regarding the Church's position on sexual matters have been issued by the magisterium. This newly updated edition of Catholic Sexual A Summary, Explanation, & Defense examines the Church's teachings with regard to sexuality in light of these the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Veritatis Splendor, Evangelium Vitae, and others. If you are looking for a definitive and comprehensive account of the Catholic Church's position on all aspects of human sexuality, including the origin of life, homosexuality, and birth control, this book is an invaluable reference.
335 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1985
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May 17, 2024
A CLEAR SUMMARY OF THE ‘TRADITIONAL’ CATHOLIC VIEWS ON THESE TOPICS
The authors wrote in the Introduction to this 1985 book, “The purpose of this book is to present the teachings of the Catholic Church on questions of sexual morality. .. [This] is needed today because many Catholics and non-Catholics alike to not have a clear overall view of this teaching. Even those who now the Church’s position on the various controverted issues in sexual ethics do not understand the roots of this teaching and its real human value. Many see it as a set of rules of taboos created by human authorities, or as vestiges of a culture which no longer serves any human needs.” (Pg. 9)
They continue, “With remarkable uniformity and insistence the Church, over many centuries, has taught that sex is fundamentally a good and wonderful gift of God, and that intelligently ordered sexual activity can be a humanly perfecting and even sanctifying thing. The condemnation of certain kinds of acts, choices, and attitudes … is the result of this conviction about the basic goodness and importance of sexuality, for those thins condemned by the Church are the sexual acts and attitudes which harm the human goods at stake in sexual activity. They are treated as gravely wrong because these good are so central to the person’s self-integrity, to the most intimate and fundamental relationships between persons, and to the person’s relationship to God.” (Pg. 9-10)
They continue, “There are many views about how sexuality is to be regulated … [A] dominant view nowadays is that sexuality is governed by moral norms, and that these are requirements of its interpersonal character. On this view, the relational character of sexual activity is its most important feature, and thus provides a moral criterion for evaluating sexual behavior… This view of sexual morality might be called the ‘responsible-relational’ view… It is not surprising … that this view tends to approve, in many kinds of circumstances, premarital sex, masturbation, homosexual activity, and do on… It is surprising therefore to note now much of the responsible-relational view some Catholic writers have accepted… But they have denied some teachings very insistently affirmed by the Church… Catholic writers, of course, are concerned to preserve the special place of marriage in the sexual domain… It is essential therefore that the Church’s teaching on sexual morality be presented in a way that reveals its truth and attractiveness. This book is part of the effort to do this…” (Pg. 10-12)
They state, “[Catholic] tradition teaches now, and has always taught, that the union of man and woman in marriage is good, indeed holy. It teaches… that the virtue of chastity is necessary for all persons, male and female, married and unmarried, so that they might fully have freedom of self-possession and not be controlled by unworthy sexual desire. It… has always taught, that some specific sorts of sexual activity---fornication, adultery, contraception… are simply incompatible with the form of living appropriate to a person who has become one body with Christ through baptism, and whose body is a living tabernacle of God.” (Pg. 31-32)
They explain, “For Augustine, offspring is the first and more obvious good of marriage… Where Augustine can be faulted, it would seem, is in his failure to consider that spouses can chose to have marital relations for the precise purpose of expressing their fidelity, their love.” (Pg. 38, 40) Later, they add, “A procreative intent is not, then, necessary for marital acts to be virtuous, holy, and meritorious.” (Pg. 49)
They explain, “the magisterium has always taught that it is seriously wrong to choose to engage in any sexual activity that is not authentically marital… Thus, for example, the Roman Catechism … in condemning adultery, fornication, prostitution, and homosexual acts, listed them as violations of the sixth commandment… In addition, it is clear that the magisterium has… regarded masturbation and contraception as among the grossly indecent and sexually irresponsible acts which exclude their perpetrators from God’s kingdom.” (Pg. 64)
They assert, “‘But every person must follow his own conscience!’ Christian faith holds that this statement expresses an important truth about morality. This statement, unfortunately, is often misunderstood. Many take it to imply that personal conscience is the only thing a responsible person must be concerned with… This implication is entirely unwarranted. The good person will care very much that his or her conscience guides him or her correctly to what is really good to the extent that heh or she can discover it. For the upright person… is concerned with knowing and doing what is truly good.” (Pg. 98) They add, “Forming one’s conscience therefore involves two types of activity. First, one must grasp the implications of the basic principles of morality; second, sensitive to all the significant features of one’s situation, one must learn how to apply these norms so as to form reasonable judgements of conscience.” (Pg. 108-109)
They explain, “The virtue of chastity is an aspect of the carinal virtue of temperance, which has as its subject matter the pleasures of eating, drinking, and sex. Chastity is the form of temperance concerned with the pleasures of sex. These pleasures are essentially related to touch---in particular, touches involving the exercise of one’s genital sexuality---and secondarily all the pleasures which prepare them by stimulating the desire for them.” (Pg. 131)
They state, “But what is the God-given character of marriage? It is the union of one man and one woman, who mutually give themselves to each other so that they may share an intimate partnership of the whole of their lives until death.” (Pg. 135) They continue, “The act of marrying of baptized persons therefore is an act of the Church and a sacrament of the new covenant to which Christ himself is party.” (Pg. 139) They caution, “But sex… can be abused. Married persons can engage in sexual activity in unreasonable and sinful ways… First we consider adultery, which fails to honor the good of faithful love. Then we treat contraception, which attacks the procreative good.” (Pg. 146-147)
They acknowledge, “Pressure to change the Catholic teaching on contraception … became especially intense in the 1960s. Nonetheless, Pope Paul VI… refused to alter the Church’s stand against contraception… In doing so he was not denying the importance of family planning and responsible parenthood. His concern was with the moral character of the means used to achieve this end… In his encyclical Humanae Vitae, Paul VI … [stated] A contraceptive act is … any act of coition which is intended precisely to act against the procreative good, to prevent it from being realized.” (Pg. 153)
They argue, “Great strides have been made in recent years in perfecting NFP [Natural Family Planning]. While earlier forms were less effective, the best contemporary methods are quite reliable… NFP … avoids the harmful physical and moral effects of contraception… Some argue that NFP and contraception have precisely the same purpose (that is, the avoidance of conception) and that therefore they must be morally the same… Though they have exactly the same end, these acts are obviously not morally the same… NFP involves the choice to treat the procreative good as an evil and to act directly against it, whereas contraceptive intercourse does… In practicing NFP a couple adopts a policy to have sexual intercourse at infertile times and to refrain from intercourse at fertile times if they have serious reasons o avoid a pregnancy… In NFP… one’s intention to avoid a pregnancy is achieved for forgoing the act that one believes will be procreative; one does not act against a good by altogether refraining from acting.” (Pg. 168)
They state, “The Church has constantly taught that contraception or direct sterilization is intrinsically immoral… The Church teaches that indirect sterilization is often justifiable. The principle of totality indicates that a person is permitted to undergo a mutilating operation necessary to protect the live and health of the person, even if sterility resulted as a side effect of the operation.” (Pg.170-171) Later, they add, “Artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization… are now very real options made available by modern technology. The Church holds that to bring about human life in these ways is to abuse technology… This is not the place to develop fully an argument against these activities…” (Pg. 174)
They clarify, “The moral judgment of the Church is directed toward homosexual acts and not toward the homosexual condition. To a large extent this condition is not voluntarily established and is thus outside of direct rational control… Nor for many homosexuals is the condition something that can be readily or even significantly altered… The Church’s constant teaching on the morality of homosexual acts is unequivocal: such acts are of their very nature seriously wrong.” (Pg. 197) Later, they add, “Persons of a homosexual orientation deserve the love and support of the Christian community… they have distinctive heavy burdens to bear… Should they fall in their human weakness, they should still receive the compassionate concern that all persons long for…” (Pg. 202-203)
They conclude, “Christ never his from his disciples the excellence and the difficulty of his teaching concerning marriage and sexual morality… Those who wish to live chaste lives, faithfully respecting every human value in their choices, will experience trials and stress but also great comfort and consolation. Contemporary literature and experience reveal that those who deliberately perform lustful deeds … tend to fall into even greater anxieties and strains…” (Pg. 225)
This book is a clear and detailed explanation of ‘orthodox’ Catholic teaching on these topics. And it states contrary opinions in a reasonably fair manner, while still rejecting them.
The authors wrote in the Introduction to this 1985 book, “The purpose of this book is to present the teachings of the Catholic Church on questions of sexual morality. .. [This] is needed today because many Catholics and non-Catholics alike to not have a clear overall view of this teaching. Even those who now the Church’s position on the various controverted issues in sexual ethics do not understand the roots of this teaching and its real human value. Many see it as a set of rules of taboos created by human authorities, or as vestiges of a culture which no longer serves any human needs.” (Pg. 9)
They continue, “With remarkable uniformity and insistence the Church, over many centuries, has taught that sex is fundamentally a good and wonderful gift of God, and that intelligently ordered sexual activity can be a humanly perfecting and even sanctifying thing. The condemnation of certain kinds of acts, choices, and attitudes … is the result of this conviction about the basic goodness and importance of sexuality, for those thins condemned by the Church are the sexual acts and attitudes which harm the human goods at stake in sexual activity. They are treated as gravely wrong because these good are so central to the person’s self-integrity, to the most intimate and fundamental relationships between persons, and to the person’s relationship to God.” (Pg. 9-10)
They continue, “There are many views about how sexuality is to be regulated … [A] dominant view nowadays is that sexuality is governed by moral norms, and that these are requirements of its interpersonal character. On this view, the relational character of sexual activity is its most important feature, and thus provides a moral criterion for evaluating sexual behavior… This view of sexual morality might be called the ‘responsible-relational’ view… It is not surprising … that this view tends to approve, in many kinds of circumstances, premarital sex, masturbation, homosexual activity, and do on… It is surprising therefore to note now much of the responsible-relational view some Catholic writers have accepted… But they have denied some teachings very insistently affirmed by the Church… Catholic writers, of course, are concerned to preserve the special place of marriage in the sexual domain… It is essential therefore that the Church’s teaching on sexual morality be presented in a way that reveals its truth and attractiveness. This book is part of the effort to do this…” (Pg. 10-12)
They state, “[Catholic] tradition teaches now, and has always taught, that the union of man and woman in marriage is good, indeed holy. It teaches… that the virtue of chastity is necessary for all persons, male and female, married and unmarried, so that they might fully have freedom of self-possession and not be controlled by unworthy sexual desire. It… has always taught, that some specific sorts of sexual activity---fornication, adultery, contraception… are simply incompatible with the form of living appropriate to a person who has become one body with Christ through baptism, and whose body is a living tabernacle of God.” (Pg. 31-32)
They explain, “For Augustine, offspring is the first and more obvious good of marriage… Where Augustine can be faulted, it would seem, is in his failure to consider that spouses can chose to have marital relations for the precise purpose of expressing their fidelity, their love.” (Pg. 38, 40) Later, they add, “A procreative intent is not, then, necessary for marital acts to be virtuous, holy, and meritorious.” (Pg. 49)
They explain, “the magisterium has always taught that it is seriously wrong to choose to engage in any sexual activity that is not authentically marital… Thus, for example, the Roman Catechism … in condemning adultery, fornication, prostitution, and homosexual acts, listed them as violations of the sixth commandment… In addition, it is clear that the magisterium has… regarded masturbation and contraception as among the grossly indecent and sexually irresponsible acts which exclude their perpetrators from God’s kingdom.” (Pg. 64)
They assert, “‘But every person must follow his own conscience!’ Christian faith holds that this statement expresses an important truth about morality. This statement, unfortunately, is often misunderstood. Many take it to imply that personal conscience is the only thing a responsible person must be concerned with… This implication is entirely unwarranted. The good person will care very much that his or her conscience guides him or her correctly to what is really good to the extent that heh or she can discover it. For the upright person… is concerned with knowing and doing what is truly good.” (Pg. 98) They add, “Forming one’s conscience therefore involves two types of activity. First, one must grasp the implications of the basic principles of morality; second, sensitive to all the significant features of one’s situation, one must learn how to apply these norms so as to form reasonable judgements of conscience.” (Pg. 108-109)
They explain, “The virtue of chastity is an aspect of the carinal virtue of temperance, which has as its subject matter the pleasures of eating, drinking, and sex. Chastity is the form of temperance concerned with the pleasures of sex. These pleasures are essentially related to touch---in particular, touches involving the exercise of one’s genital sexuality---and secondarily all the pleasures which prepare them by stimulating the desire for them.” (Pg. 131)
They state, “But what is the God-given character of marriage? It is the union of one man and one woman, who mutually give themselves to each other so that they may share an intimate partnership of the whole of their lives until death.” (Pg. 135) They continue, “The act of marrying of baptized persons therefore is an act of the Church and a sacrament of the new covenant to which Christ himself is party.” (Pg. 139) They caution, “But sex… can be abused. Married persons can engage in sexual activity in unreasonable and sinful ways… First we consider adultery, which fails to honor the good of faithful love. Then we treat contraception, which attacks the procreative good.” (Pg. 146-147)
They acknowledge, “Pressure to change the Catholic teaching on contraception … became especially intense in the 1960s. Nonetheless, Pope Paul VI… refused to alter the Church’s stand against contraception… In doing so he was not denying the importance of family planning and responsible parenthood. His concern was with the moral character of the means used to achieve this end… In his encyclical Humanae Vitae, Paul VI … [stated] A contraceptive act is … any act of coition which is intended precisely to act against the procreative good, to prevent it from being realized.” (Pg. 153)
They argue, “Great strides have been made in recent years in perfecting NFP [Natural Family Planning]. While earlier forms were less effective, the best contemporary methods are quite reliable… NFP … avoids the harmful physical and moral effects of contraception… Some argue that NFP and contraception have precisely the same purpose (that is, the avoidance of conception) and that therefore they must be morally the same… Though they have exactly the same end, these acts are obviously not morally the same… NFP involves the choice to treat the procreative good as an evil and to act directly against it, whereas contraceptive intercourse does… In practicing NFP a couple adopts a policy to have sexual intercourse at infertile times and to refrain from intercourse at fertile times if they have serious reasons o avoid a pregnancy… In NFP… one’s intention to avoid a pregnancy is achieved for forgoing the act that one believes will be procreative; one does not act against a good by altogether refraining from acting.” (Pg. 168)
They state, “The Church has constantly taught that contraception or direct sterilization is intrinsically immoral… The Church teaches that indirect sterilization is often justifiable. The principle of totality indicates that a person is permitted to undergo a mutilating operation necessary to protect the live and health of the person, even if sterility resulted as a side effect of the operation.” (Pg.170-171) Later, they add, “Artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization… are now very real options made available by modern technology. The Church holds that to bring about human life in these ways is to abuse technology… This is not the place to develop fully an argument against these activities…” (Pg. 174)
They clarify, “The moral judgment of the Church is directed toward homosexual acts and not toward the homosexual condition. To a large extent this condition is not voluntarily established and is thus outside of direct rational control… Nor for many homosexuals is the condition something that can be readily or even significantly altered… The Church’s constant teaching on the morality of homosexual acts is unequivocal: such acts are of their very nature seriously wrong.” (Pg. 197) Later, they add, “Persons of a homosexual orientation deserve the love and support of the Christian community… they have distinctive heavy burdens to bear… Should they fall in their human weakness, they should still receive the compassionate concern that all persons long for…” (Pg. 202-203)
They conclude, “Christ never his from his disciples the excellence and the difficulty of his teaching concerning marriage and sexual morality… Those who wish to live chaste lives, faithfully respecting every human value in their choices, will experience trials and stress but also great comfort and consolation. Contemporary literature and experience reveal that those who deliberately perform lustful deeds … tend to fall into even greater anxieties and strains…” (Pg. 225)
This book is a clear and detailed explanation of ‘orthodox’ Catholic teaching on these topics. And it states contrary opinions in a reasonably fair manner, while still rejecting them.
January 17, 2020
An excellent explanation and defense of traditional sexual ethics, philosophy and Catholic teaching. I thoroughly enjoyed reading through it and learning about the Church's teachings more deeply.
In my opinion, it's a must read for those going through marriage prep or those looking to better understand The Church's teaching on sexuality.
In my opinion, it's a must read for those going through marriage prep or those looking to better understand The Church's teaching on sexuality.
September 17, 2025
Bastantes temas interesantes si no has leído previamente nada al respecto
October 2, 2012
Reason for Reading: I am very strong in my faith and have a profound interest in moral theology and ethics.
Sometimes I feel like I've got in over my head when I set out to "review" a book and this is one of those times. Of course I'm not going to actually "review" this as I am nowhere near as intelligent or learned on this subject as the authors. That's one of the reasons I read it! So these brief musings will be my description and notes on this book, to perhaps help another reader decide if it is the book for them. First of all this book is what one would call a textbook; I would presume it is used in colleges, etc, however it is not written in a dry, hard to understand voice, nor is it extremely technical nor does it require complex reading skills. Rather, written for the laymen who is ready to study the topic at a further advanced level beyond an "off the shelf" layman's book. The book does require some thinking and effort but it is by no means unapproachable and at times the reading even flies. But the material is so interesting, inspiring, reaffirming, and possibly life-changing, that one will want to read passages over and over again before moving on.
I'd like to mention that "Catholic Sexual Ethics" is not all about the sex. The last three chapters focus exclusively on sexuality, however the rest of the book concentrates on other topics which are more important than sex and then brings in how sex is related to that topic. One thread that runs through the book is that humans are sexual beings nature but sexual lust & pleasure does not define who we are as humans. Our relationship with God defines us, and how we express ourselves sexually needs to be with the presence of the Holy Spirit in mind.
Following ethics and morality as taught by the Church is a most glorious and wonderful thing. One cannot imagine the beauty of this life unless one has experienced it and this book attempts to take all the high-faluting language down a few notches so the reader can understand what it means to respect the God-given body, yours and others.
First this book takes us through the history of sexual teaching in three chapters: first the Church's teachings, the Bible's teachings, and finally Catholic Traditions' teaching. These three are all one-in-the-same only with different degrees of clarity and one defines the other to the point of no misinterpretation. These chapters set a foundation on just what sex is, and why it is. The answers are very contradictory to modern society's hedonistic nature, but if one can read this for the true beauty of what the relationship is between God and his gift to us of sex, then you will be prepared for the rest of the book.
Follows are chapters on patterns of thinking in moral theology, Conscience: it's meaning and formation and finally Chastity, Virginity & Christian Marriage (three things which some may be surprised to find do walk hand in hand with each other). This is the first chapter that solely concerns itself with sexuality.
The last two chapters concern Chastity and it's Obligations first for the Married Person and lastly for the Unmarried Person.
Christian Catholic Ethics are not a book or list of rules. They are an explanation of what God expects from us when we are living mature Christian lives; we put God first, we invite the Holy Spirit in us to participate in all we do. This isn't easy, but it isn't any unnatural hardship either. The outcome is beautiful. This book shows us where modern society and biblical (traditional) ethics parted and the damage it does to the soul. If you are anything like me, you will be thinking about how you live your life and possibly making some adjustments. Highly recommended for those teaching this subject, working with youth on the subject and anyone ready to dig deeper into how they can live their life closer to God, while reaping the rewards.
Sometimes I feel like I've got in over my head when I set out to "review" a book and this is one of those times. Of course I'm not going to actually "review" this as I am nowhere near as intelligent or learned on this subject as the authors. That's one of the reasons I read it! So these brief musings will be my description and notes on this book, to perhaps help another reader decide if it is the book for them. First of all this book is what one would call a textbook; I would presume it is used in colleges, etc, however it is not written in a dry, hard to understand voice, nor is it extremely technical nor does it require complex reading skills. Rather, written for the laymen who is ready to study the topic at a further advanced level beyond an "off the shelf" layman's book. The book does require some thinking and effort but it is by no means unapproachable and at times the reading even flies. But the material is so interesting, inspiring, reaffirming, and possibly life-changing, that one will want to read passages over and over again before moving on.
I'd like to mention that "Catholic Sexual Ethics" is not all about the sex. The last three chapters focus exclusively on sexuality, however the rest of the book concentrates on other topics which are more important than sex and then brings in how sex is related to that topic. One thread that runs through the book is that humans are sexual beings nature but sexual lust & pleasure does not define who we are as humans. Our relationship with God defines us, and how we express ourselves sexually needs to be with the presence of the Holy Spirit in mind.
Following ethics and morality as taught by the Church is a most glorious and wonderful thing. One cannot imagine the beauty of this life unless one has experienced it and this book attempts to take all the high-faluting language down a few notches so the reader can understand what it means to respect the God-given body, yours and others.
First this book takes us through the history of sexual teaching in three chapters: first the Church's teachings, the Bible's teachings, and finally Catholic Traditions' teaching. These three are all one-in-the-same only with different degrees of clarity and one defines the other to the point of no misinterpretation. These chapters set a foundation on just what sex is, and why it is. The answers are very contradictory to modern society's hedonistic nature, but if one can read this for the true beauty of what the relationship is between God and his gift to us of sex, then you will be prepared for the rest of the book.
Follows are chapters on patterns of thinking in moral theology, Conscience: it's meaning and formation and finally Chastity, Virginity & Christian Marriage (three things which some may be surprised to find do walk hand in hand with each other). This is the first chapter that solely concerns itself with sexuality.
The last two chapters concern Chastity and it's Obligations first for the Married Person and lastly for the Unmarried Person.
Christian Catholic Ethics are not a book or list of rules. They are an explanation of what God expects from us when we are living mature Christian lives; we put God first, we invite the Holy Spirit in us to participate in all we do. This isn't easy, but it isn't any unnatural hardship either. The outcome is beautiful. This book shows us where modern society and biblical (traditional) ethics parted and the damage it does to the soul. If you are anything like me, you will be thinking about how you live your life and possibly making some adjustments. Highly recommended for those teaching this subject, working with youth on the subject and anyone ready to dig deeper into how they can live their life closer to God, while reaping the rewards.
April 27, 2013
Aside from the enormous amount of excellent content they fit in 350 pages, the endnotes in each chapter are a treasure trove of sources and additional information. If you are looking for an introduction to Catholic sexual ethics, this is it.
March 14, 2014
Solid Roman Catholic ethical engagement of sexuality.
January 20, 2016
This is a very understandable book about sexual morality. Very thought-provoking and supportive of human dignity.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews