Marriage, Family and Sexuality

Catechism of the Catholic Church sections # 1601 through 1666, 2331 through 2400, and 2514 through 2533 are relevant to these documents.	Church letters.	Background statements written by Msgr. Peter J. Elliott of the Archdiocese of Melbourne and copyrighted by Catholics Committed to Support the Pope are indicated by ©CCSP. All others are written and copyrighted by Martin K.Barrack as indicated by ©MKB.
Document	Description	Background
Arcanum Divinae Sapientiae Vatican Library	Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII on Christian Marriage, February 10, 1880	The assault on marriage, the family and sexual morality which began at the “Enlightenment” was carried forward by liberal, masonic, socialist and other secularist forces which rose to power in the nineteenth century. Pope Leo XIII defends the family against civil marriage and divorce by affirming the Church’s control of marriage. He repeats the teachings of previous Popes that the sacrament of marriage cannot be separated from the sacred contract made by the consent of the couple, hence the state has no right to control it. ©CCSP
Casti Connubii Vatican Library	Encyclical of Pope Pius XI on Christian Marriage, December 31, 1930	At the end of the twenties, a decade of increasing permissiveness, just after the Anglican Lambeth Conference had accepted contraception, Pope Pius XI called Catholics back to the values of Christian marriage and family life. His teaching upholds indissoluble sacramental marriage, and he develops the doctrine of marriage both as a “consecration” and as a sacrament which is lived day by day. He rejects contraception and calls for strong sexual ethics and the sound formation of young people. ©CCSP
To Italian Midwives Catholic Culture Library	Address of Pope Pius XII, October 29, 1951	The teaching of Pope Pius XII is directed to specific issues of marriage and sexuality which emerged after the Second World War. In this significant discourse, he rejects abortion and affirms the innate right to life of the unborn child; he rejects contraception and sterilization; and he affirms that the primary end of marriage is the procreation and education of a new life. He also recognizes that, for serious reasons, couples can practice periodic continence as a rightful way of regulating conception. ©CCSP
To the Directors of Associations for Large Families of Rome and Italy Fr. Anthony Zimmerman’s Library	Address of Pope Pius XII, January 20, 1958	In supporting large families, Pope Pius XII rejects the pressures already being put on the modern family in favor of birth control, in the name of “planned parenthood.” He anticipated the threats posed to the family by eugenics and especially by the population control movement which became active in the following decades. In praising the qualities of large families, he also anticipates various problems associated with the “nuclear family.” The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council would later praise those parents who choose to have large families in Gaudium et Spes, # 50. ©CCSP
To the Sacred Roman Rota Still looking	Address of Pope John XXIII, October 25, 1960	In an era of new prosperity and growing materialism, when marriage faced various challenges and pressures, Pope John XXIII speaks to the judges of the Church’s supreme marriage tribunal. He emphasizes the holiness of marriage and the need to maintain sound doctrine to help people approach the sacrament of marriage more seriously. ©CCSP
Gaudium et Spes Vatican Library	Vatican II, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, December 7, 1965	As an important part of their extensive teaching on the Church in the Modern World, the Council Fathers reaffirmed the sanctity and value of Christian marriage and family life. Sacramental marriage is a covenant and a communion of life and love which is crowned by the procreation of children. The marriage bond and Christian family life were already being assaulted by permissiveness, based largely on the development and spread of contraception. This social trend rapidly developed into the “sexual revolution” in the years after the Council. ©CCSP
Humanae Vitae Vatican Library	Encyclical of Pope Paul VI on the Regulation of Birth, July 25, 1968	Resisting contrary pressures, Pope Paul VI restated the constant teaching of the Church against contraception, sterilization and abortion, in the context of an encyclical on married life and the transmission of human life. As the contestation over Humanae Vitae has faded over the years, his prophetic proclamation of the truth has been vindicated by the experience of faithful couples and by the development of natural family planning. However, marriage and family life continue to suffer from the tragic personal and social effects of the sexual revolution and population control, both based on contraception, sterilization and abortion. ©CCSP
Matrimonia Mixta Still looking	Apostolic Letter of Pope Paul VI on Mixed Marriages, January 7, 1970	In the light of the changing situation in pluralist societies in an era of greater mobility, Pope Paul VI established new regulations for Catholics who wish to marry Christians who are not members of the Catholic Church. The Church reaffirms her jurisdiction over these “inter-Church marriages,” motivated by her concern for the unity of the Christian family and for the spiritual welfare of children. ©CCSP
To the Teams of Our Lady Still looking	Address of Pope Paul VI, May 4, 1970	Speaking to a leading family movement, Pope Paul VI encourages the members and chaplains to uphold the teaching of the Church on marriage, procreation and life in the home, which is the “domestic church.” ©CCSP
Persona Humana New Advent Library	On Certain Questions of Sexual Ethics, Declaration of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, December 29, 1975	The ideology of the sexual revolution of the late sixties and seventies had penetrated the post-conciliar Church. To correct erroneous teaching in some quarters and to remind Catholics of moral truth, with the approval of Pope Paul VI, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith reaffirmed Catholic teaching on a range of disputed topics. ©CCSP
Theology of the Body	Pope John Paul II’s General Audience talks 1979-1984	Pope John Paul II’s great series of 129 general talks on the Theology of the Body penetrate deeply into questions such as the real purpose of life, why we were created male and female, why male and female have been called to become Gen 2:24 “one flesh” since the beginning, purposes of the married and celibate vocations, love, and purity of heart. ©MKB
Familiaris Consortio Vatican Library	Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation of Pope John Paul II on the Christian Family in the Modern World, November 22, 1981	The 1980 Synod of Bishops had studied the family in the modern world. In Familiaris Consortio, Pope John Paul II responds to concerns raised at the Synod with the most complete treatment of the family in any magisterial document. In nn. 28-35, he reaffirms the teaching of Humanae Vitae in a personalist way. In 1981, the crucial year of the attempt on his life, the Pope also established the Pontifical Council for the Family in the Curia and the first Pontifical Institute for the Family in Rome. ©CCSP
On the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons Vatican Library	Letter of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to the Bishops of the Catholic Church, October 1, 1986	The sexual revolution also included the “gay movement,” striving to legalize homosexual practices and to promote a homosexual life-style. In the face of this challenge, with the approval of Pope John Paul II, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith restated the Church teaching that these practices are sinful. But, with a pastoral perspective, the letter provides guidelines for forms of ministry to homosexual persons which do not compromise moral truth. ©CCSP
Mulieris Dignitatem Vatican Library	Encyclical of Pope John Paul II on the Dignity and Vocation of Women, August 15, 1988	The women’s movement and various forms of feminism have raised many important questions concerning the rights and role of women. During the Marian Year, Pope John Paul II presents a powerful reflection on the true dignity and vocation of women in the light of creation, the Gospel of Christ and the role of Our Lady. ©CCSP
To the Second International Congress of Moral Theology Catholic Information Network Library	Address of Pope John Paul II, November 12, 1988	To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Humanae Vitae, experts in moral theology from all around the world gathered at the Lateran University, Rome, for a Congress jointly sponsored by the John Paul II institute for the Family and the Roman Academic Center of the Holy Cross. Supporting these faithful moralists, the Pope underlines the role of the Magisterium in the formation of conscience. He indicates that the moral norm of Humanae Vitae does not admit exceptions. ©CCSP
Letter on Uterine Isolation and Other Questions Vatican Library	Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, July 31, 1993	Some theologians in the United States argued that one could licitly remove a woman’s uterus or perform a tubal ligation to prevent her from possible future danger, caused by prior Caesarian deliveries or other causes, should she become pregnant. They claimed that doing this would not constitute direct contraceptive sterilization and they used the expression “uterine isolation” to describe the moral object of the choice to perform a tubal ligation in this case. Note well that the danger to the woman’s life and health would occur only should she become pregnant; the uterus itself, although scarred, posed no threat. Controversies arose in the United States and elsewhere over this issue. Eventually, Bishops from the United States submitted some questions regarding this opinion to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and its response is given in this document. ©CCSP
Concerning the Reception of Holy Communion by Divorced and Remarried Members of the Faithful Vatican Library	Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, September 14, 1994	As divorces increased rapidly in “developed” nations in the last decades of the twentieth century, a major pastoral issue was debated: whether the Eucharist could be given to divorced and remarried Catholics who had not obtained an annulment, or who did not agree to cease sexual relations. The position of the Church against giving Communion to people in irregular unions is maintained by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, but this ruling emphasizes the need for better ministry to these Catholics who still remain part of the Church (cf. Familiaris Consortio, 84). Various movements are responding to this pastoral need. ©CCSP
Preparation for the Sacrament of Marriage Vatican Library	Pontifical Council for the Family, May 13, 1996	These guidelines of the Pontifical Council for the Family make up a template for preparing local directives on marriage preparation in nations or dioceses. The framework provided sets out the essential steps that lead toward the worthy and fruitful celebration of the Sacrament of Marriage. The document draws on the experience of clergy and laity who have worked in this field in different cultures at the various stages of preparing couples for the “Great Sacrament.” ©CCSP
Vademecum for Confessors, Concerning Some Aspects of the Morality of the Conjugal Life Vatican Library	Pontifical Council for the Family, February 18, 1997	Since the widespread dissent against the 1968 encyclical of Pope Paul VI, Humanae Vitae, contraception and sterilization continue to plague married life, with damaging effects at all levels in the life of the Church. Ignorance and confusion about Church teaching abound. The Church can confront and correct the problem in the confidential moments of the Sacrament of Penance. This “Vademecum” offers prudent guidance for confessors, who are called upon to guide couples and individuals on the authentic way of goodness, grace, and peace. ©CCSP
The Family and Human Rights Vatican Library	Pontifical Council for the Family, December 9, 1999	In December, 1998, a group of experts and others committed to the cause of family and human life met in Rome at the invitation of the Pontifical Council for the Family to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights promulgated by the United Nations on December 10, 1948. The purpose of the sessions was to reflect on the theme “Human Rights and the Rights of the Family,” and to show how some of these rights were adequately identified and protected by the 1948 United Nations Declaration, whereas others, in particular the basic rights of unborn children and of married couples, were not and were, in fact, being violated throughout the world, particularly by abortion and the legal sanctioning of the laboratory generation of human life. The draft document produced by this working group in December was subsequently developed and clarified under the guidance of the Pontifical Council for the Family and publicshed in November, 1999. ©CCSP
Integration of the Disabled Vatican Library	Conclusions of a Vatican Conference on the Family and Integration of the Disabled, Pontifical Council for the Family, March 4, 2000	In December 1999 a group of doctors, psychologists, professors, as well as professionals, directors, and members of associations for the disabled met at the Vatican to examine the family’s role in the integration of disabled children into society, with special attention to mental handicaps. This document summarizes what has been accomplished so far, and proposes further development of the existing networks of information and assistance for parents of the disabled, the creation of specialized workplaces or institutions for the disabled, and more effective help from social workers to facilitate integration of the disabled into full participation in the social and economic framework. ©MKB
Family, Marriage and “De Facto” Unions Vatican Library	Presentation of the Pontifical Council for the Family, November 21, 2000	This presentation provides Catholic guidance on the assault on the institution of marriage by couples living together in sexual relationships while ignoring, postponing, or even rejecting the conjugal commitment. It explains why Christian marriage is irreplaceable in both the temporal and spiritual realms. ©MKB
Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons Vatican Library	Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, June 3, 2003	At the beginning of the twenty-first century the increasing efforts to present homosexual activity as an alternate lifestyle have focused on “civil unions” and even “marriage.” Here the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith sets forth the inalienable characteristics of marriage, that it unites male and female, that it engages the sexual faculty, and that it fulfills God’s plan for creation: Be fruitful and multiply. The sacred Congregation firmly asserts that homosexual unions are not in any way similar to God’s plan for marriage and the family. It adds that where homosexual unions have been legally recognized by civil authorities, “clear and emphatic opposition” is the duty of every Catholic. The sacred Congregation presents arguments from reason against legal recognition of homosexual unions from the order of right reason, from the biological and anthropological order, from the social order, and from the legal order. It also asserts that Catholic politicians have a particular responsibility to oppose the legal recognition of homosexual unions, and to limit the harm done by such laws when it is not possible to repeal them outright. Finally, it makes a sharp and clear distinction between respect for homosexual persons, which Catholics support, and approval of homosexual behavior, which Catholics oppose. ©MKB
Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Collaboration of Men and Women in the Church and in the World	Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, May 31, 2004	Cardinal Ratzinger quotes from Gen 1:27 “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them,” to show that, from the very beginning, “humanity is described as articulated in the male-female relationship.” He adds, “women preserve the deep intuition of the goodness in their lives of those actions which elicit life, and contribute to the growth and protection of the other. … This intuition is linked to women's physical capacity to give life. Whether lived out or remaining potential, this capacity is a reality that structures the female personality in a profound way.” Cardinal Ratzinger observes that “motherhood can find forms of full realization also where there is no physical procreation.” Perhaps the best summary is, “Here what John Paul II has termed the genius of women becomes very clear. It implies first of all that women be significantly and actively present in the family, “the primordial and, in a certain sense sovereign society”, since it is here above all that the features of a people take shape; it is here that its members acquire basic teachings. They learn to love inasmuch as they are unconditionally loved, they learn respect for others inasmuch as they are respected, they learn to know the face of God inasmuch as they receive a first revelation of it from a father and a mother full of attention in their regard.” ©MKB
The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die Without Being Baptized	International Theological Commission, April 19, 2007	This document does not carry the authority of a papal or even a dicastery document, but it does represent the thinking of major Catholic theologians. With the great number of children today whose lives are aborted in their mothers’ wombs, large numbers of Catholic faithful are concerned for their immortal souls. The Catechism of the Catholic Church § 1261 says, “As regards children who have died without Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus' tenderness toward children which caused him to say: ‘Let the children come to me, do not hinder them,’ allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the Church's call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism.” Catholic faithful who would like to understand this teaching more deeply will find at least some of their questions answered here. ©MKB