Vatican Declaration Published by Our Sunday Visitor On Sexual Ethicx Jc Vatican Declaration On Sexual Ethics Published by Our Sunday Visitor, Huntington, Ind. 46750 No. 446 OUTLINE OF VATICAN DECLARATION ON SEXUAL ETHICS 1. The Present Situation A. The importance of sexuality B. Today’s unbridled exaltation of sex i. Some promote a licentious hedonism. C. Confusion on what Christians must believe 2. The Church cannot remain indifferent to the confusion. A. Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, under mandate from Pope, must speak out. 3. Some principles A. Man cannot make moral judgments according to personal whim. B. Essential order of man’s nature must be respected. C. Sexuality governed by immutable principles i. Can be grasped by reason ii. Are eternal, objective and universal iii. Man must participate in this divine law. 4. Those are wrong who deny objective morality. A. Morality not an expression of particular culture at certain moment in history B. Human nature is constant. C. Value of natural law 5. Sexual ethics concern fundamental values of human life. A. Natural law applies. i. Does not go out of date. B. Vatican Council II considered this point. i. Called for equal dignity of man and woman while respecting their difference. ii. Recognized objective standards. C. Church’s teaching comes from Divine Revelation and authentic in- terpretation of natural law. i. States that the use of sexual function has its true meaning and moral rectitude only in true marriage. 6. Object of present declaration A. Not to explain all abuses of sexual faculty B. But to explain Church’s doctrine 4 7. Pre-marital sex A. Wrong even among those planning to marry B. Christ willed a stable union: Mt. 19:4-6. C. St. Paul even more explicit: Ep. 5:25-32 D. Experience teaches that love must find its stability in marriage. i. Conjugal contract needed ii. Premarital relations usually exclude possibility of children. iii. Church holds marriage consent must be sacramental. 8. Homosexuality A. Homosexuality opposed to moral teaching of Church. B. Homosexuality opposed to Christian moral sense. C. Sources of homosexuality i. Transitory and curable a. From bad example b. From habit c. From lack of sexual development ii. Incurable because of constitution a. Must be treated with understanding b. No pastoral method can give justification c. Intrinsically disordered 9. Masturbation A. A grave moral disorder B. False opinions C. Deliberate use of sexual faculty outside normal conjugal relations contradicts finality of the faculty. D. Sociological surveys are not a criterion of moral values. E. Causes of frequency of this phenomenon i. Innate weakness caused by original sin ii. Loss of sense of God iii. The commercialization of vice iv. Licentiousness of entertainment V. Neglect of modesty, guardian of chastity vi. Judgments should be based on use of natural and supernatural means to avoid. 10. False tendency to minimize or deny reality of grave sin. A. False idea of mortal sin B. Mortal sin does not consist only in formal and direct resistance. C. Mortal sin is committed when: i. Action in direct contempt of love of God and neighbor ii. When something chosen for whatever reason that is disordered 5 D. Lessening of consent prudentially judged i. However false to assert in sexuality mortal sins cannot be commit- ted. 11. Chastity is not negative but positive virtue. A. Must be practiced according to mind of Christ: Mt. 5:28 B. Continence gift of Holy Spirit: Gal. 5:19-25; Eph. 5:3-8 C. Liberation from the passions: Rom. 6, 7, 8 12. Liberation does not suppress concupiscence. A. One must follow in the footsteps of Christ. B. Use means offered by the Church. i. Discipline of senses and mind ii. Avoiding occasions of sin iii. Observance of modesty iv. Prayer V. Frequent reception of sacraments vi. Esteem of modesty and chastity 13. Obligation of bishops A. Instruct the faithful B. Sound doctrine in seminaries C. Catechetical instruction faithful to Christian doctrine 14. Obligation of priests A. Alert faithful against erroneous opinion B. As confessors enlighten people’s consciences 15. Obligation of parents A. Sex education suited to age B. Form wills in accordance with Christian morals C. Protect from dangers which young unaware 16. Obligation of those using social communications A. In accordance with Christian faith B. Awareness of influence 17. Young people have right to moral values. A. Those who govern people or preside over education must protect this right. Vatican Declaration on Sexual Ethics Following is the text of the Vatican s Declaration on Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics, published with the approval of Pope Paul VI and signed by Franjo Cardinal Seper, prefect of the Doctrinal Congregation, and Archbishop Jerome Hamer, its sec- retary. Sexuality and the Human Person 1. According to contemporary scientific research, the human per- son is so profoundly affected by sexuality that it must be considered as one of the factors which give to each individual’s life the principal traits that distinguish it. In fact it is from sex that the human person re- ceives the characteristics which, on the biological, psychological and spiritual levels, make that person a man or a woman, and thereby largely condition his or her progress toward maturity and insertion into society. Hence sexual matters, as is obvious to everyone, today consti- tute a theme frequently and openly dealt with in books, reviews, maga- zines and other means of social communication. In the present period, the cor- ruption of morals has increased, and one of the most serious indica- tions of this corruption is the unbri- dled exaltation of sex. Moreover, through the means of social com- munication and through public en- tertainment this corruption has reached the point of invading the field of education and infecting the general mentality. In this context certain educa- tors, teachers and moralists have been able to contribute to a better understanding and integration into life of the values proper to each of the sexes; on the other hand, there are those who have put forward concepts and modes of behavior which are contrary to the true moral exigencies of the human per- son. Some members of the latter group have even gone so far as to favor a licentious hedonism. Widespread Confusion As a result, in the course of a few years, teachings, moral criteria and modes of living hitherto faith- fully preserved have been very much unsettled, even among Chris- tians. There are many people today who, being confronted with so many widespread opinions opposed to the teaching which they received from the Church, have come to wonder what they must still hold as true. 2. The Church cannot remain indifferent to this confusion of minds and relaxation of morals. It is a question, in fact, of a matter which is of the utmost importance both for the personal lives of Chris- tians and for the social life of our times.* The bishops are daily led to note the growing difficulties ex- perienced by the faithful in obtain- 7 ing knowledge of wholesome moral teaching, especially in sexual mat- ters, and of the growing difficulties experienced by pastors in expound- ing this teaching effectively. The bishops know that by their pastoral charge they are called upon to meet the needs of their faithful in this very serious matter, and important documents dealing with it have al- ready been published by some of them or by episcopal conferences. Nevertheless, since the erroneous opinions and resulting deviations are continuing to spread every- where, the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, by virtue of its function in the universal Church^ and by a mandate of the Supreme Pontiff, has judged it nec- essary to publish the present decla- ration. Develop Innate Values 3. The people of our time are more and more convinced that the human person’s dignity and voca- tion demand that they should dis- cover, by the light of their own in- telligence, the values innate in their nature, that they should ceaselessly develop these values and realize them in their lives, in order to achieve an ever greater develop- ment. In moral matters man cannot make value judgments according to his personal whim: “In the depths of his conscience, man detects a law which he does not impose on him- self, but which holds him to obe- dience. . . . For man has in his heart a law written by God. To obey it is the very dignity of man; according to it he will be*judged. Moreover, through His revela- tion God has made known to us Christians His plan of salvation, and He has held up to us Christ, the Savior and sanctifier, in His teaching and example, as the su- preme and immutable law of life: “I am the light of the world; any- one who follows me will not be walking in the dark, he will have the light of life. Immutable Principles Therefore there can be no true promotion of man’s dignity unless the essential order of his nature is respected. Of course, in the history of civilization many of the concrete conditions and needs of human life have changed and will continue to change. But all evolution of morals and every type of life must be kept within the limits imposed by the immutable principles based upon every human person’s constitutive elements and relations which tran- scend historical contingency. These fundamental principles, / which can be grasped by reason, are contained in “the divine law — eternal, objective and universal — whereby God orders, directs and governs the entire universe and all the ways of the human community, by a plan conceived in wisdom and love. Man has been made by God to participate in this law, with the re- sult that, under the gentle disposi- tion of Divine Providence, he can come to perceive ever increasingly the unchanging truth. This di- 8 vine law is accessible to our minds. 4. Hence, those many people are in error who today assert that one can find neither in human na- ture nor in the revealed law any absolute and immutable norm to serve for particular actions other than the one which expresses itself in the general law of charity and re- spect for human dignity. As a proof of their assertion they put forward the view that so-called norms of the natural law or precepts of Sacred Scripture are to be regarded only as given expressions of a form of par- ticular culture at a certain moment of history. But in fact. Divine Revela- tion and, in its own proper order, philosophical wisdom, emphasize the authentic exigencies of human nature. They thereby necessarily manifest the existence of immuta- ble laws inscribed in the constitu- tive elements of human nature and which are revealed to be identical in all beings endowed with reason. Church Preserves Truth Furthermore, Christ instituted His Church as “the pillar and bul- wark of truth.”® With the Holy Spirit’s assistance, she ceaselessly preserves and transmits without error the truths of the moral order, and she authentically interprets not only the revealed positive law but “also . . . those principles of the moral order which have their origin in human nature itself ’^ and which concern man’s full development and sanctification. Now in fact the Church throughout her history has always considered a certain number of precepts of the natural law as having an absolute and immutable value, and in their transgression she has seen a contradiction of the teaching and spirit of the Gospel. 5. Since sexual ethics concern fundamental values of human and Christian life, this general teaching equally applies to sexual ethics. In this domain there exist principles and norms which the Church has always unhesitatingly transmitted as part of her teaching, however much the opinions and morals of the world may have been opposed to them. These principles and norms in no way owe their origin to a certain type of culture, but rather to knowledge of the divine law and of human nature. They therefore cannot be considered as having be- come out of date or doubtful under the pretext that a new cultural situ- ation has arisen. Vatican Council Directives It is these principles which in- spired the exhortations and direc- tives given by the Second Vatican Council for an education and an or- ganization of social life taking ac- count of the equal dignity of man and woman while respecting their difference.® Speaking of “the sexual nature of man and the human faculty of procreation, ” the Council noted that they “wonderfully exceed the dispositions of lower forms of life. It then took particular care to ex- pound the principles and criteria which concern human sexuality in marriage, and which are based upon the finality of the specific function of sexuality. In this regard the Council de- clares that the moral goodness of the acts proper to conjugal life, acts which are ordered according to true human dignity, “does not depend solely on sincere intentions or on an evaluation of motives. It must be determined by objective standards. These, based on the nature of the human person and his acts, pre- serve the full sense of mutual self- giving and human procreation in the context of true love. “‘° These final words briefly sum up the Council’s teachings — more fully expounded in an earlier part of the same constitution^^ — on the finality of the sexual act and on the principal criterion of its morality: it is respect for its finality that ensures the moral goodness of this act. This same principle, which the Church holds from Divine Revela- tion and from her authentic in- terpretation of the natural law, is also the basis of her traditional doc- trine, which states that the use of the sexual function has its true meaning and moral rectitude only in true marriage.*^ 6. It is not the purpose of the present declaration to deal with all the abuses of the sexual faculty, nor with all the elements involved , in the practice of chastity. Its object is rather to repeat the Church’s doctrine on certain particular points, in view of the urgent need to oppose serious errors and wide- spread aberrant modes of behavior. Pre-Marital Sex 7. Today there are many who vindicate the right to sexual union before marriage, at least in those . cases where a firm intention to marry and an affection which is al- ready in some way conjugal in .the - psychology of the subjects require this completion, which they judge to be con-natural. This is especially the case when the celebration of the marriage is impeded by circum- stances or when this intimate rela- tionship seems necessary in order for love to be preserved. This opinion is contrary to Christian doctrine, which states that every genital act must be with- in the framework of marriage. However firm the intention of those who practice such premature sexual relations may be, the fact re- mains that these relations cannot ensure, in sincerity and fidelity, the interpersonal relationship between a man and a woman, nor especially can they protect this relationship from whims and caprices. Now it is a stable union that Jesus willed, and He restored its original requirement, beginning with the sexual difference. “Have you not read that the Creator from the beginning made them male and female and that He said: This is why a man must leave father and mother, and cling to his wife, and the two become one body? They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide. St. Paul will be even more ex- plicit when he shows that if un- 10 married people or widows cannot live chastely they have no other al- ternative than to be aflame with passion. Through marriage, in fact, the love of married people is taken up into that love which Christ irrevocably has for the Church,^® while dissolute sexual union‘® defiles the temple of the Holy Spirit which the Christian has become. Sexual union therefore is only legitimate if a definitive com- munity of life has been established between the man and the woman. This is what the Church has always understood and taught, and she finds a profound agree- ment with her doctrine in men’s re- flection and in the lessons of histo- ry. Experience teaches us that love must find its safeguard in the stability of marriage if sexual intercourse is truly to respond to the requirements of its own finality and to those of human dignity. These requirements call for a con- jugal contract sanctioned and guaranteed by society — a contract which establishes a state of life of capital importance both for the ex- clusive union of the man and the woman and for the good of their family and of the human communi- ty. Most often, in fact, premarital relations exclude the possibility of ’children. What is represented to be conjugal love is not able, as it abso- lutely should be, to develop into paternal and maternal love. Or, if it does happen to do so, this will be to the detriment of the children, who will be deprived of the stable envi- ronment in which they ought to de- velop in order to find in it the way and the means of their insertion into society as a whole. The consent given by people who wish to be united in marriage must therefore be manifested exter- nally and in a manner which makes it valid in the eyes of society. As far as the faithful are concerned, their consent to the setting up of a com- munity of conjugal life must be ex- pressed according to the laws of the Church. It is a consent which makes their marriage a sacrament of Christ. Homosexuality 8. At the present time there are those who, basing themselves on observations in the psychological order, have begun to judge indul- gently, and even to excuse com- pletely, homosexual relations be- tween certain people. This they do in opposition to the constant teach- ing of the magisterium and to the moral sense of the Christian people. A distinction is drawn, and it seems with some reason, be- tween homosexuals whose tenden- cy comes from a false education, from a lack of normal sexual devel- opment, from habit, from bad ex- ample, or from other similar causes, and is transitory or at least not in- curable; and homosexuals who are definitively such because of some kind of innate instinct or a patho- logical constitution judged to be in- curable. In regard to this second cate- gory of subjects, some people con- 11 elude that their tendency is so natu- ral that it justifies in their case ho- mosexual relations within a sincere communion of life and love analo- gous to marriage, insofar as such homosexuals feel incapable of en- during a solitary life. In the pastoral field, these ho- mosexuals must certainly be treated with understanding and sustained in the hope of overcoming their personal difficulties and their in- ability to fit into society. Their cul- pability will be judged with pru- dence. But no pastoral method can be employed which would give moral justification to these acts on the grounds that they would be consonant with the condition of such people. For according to the objective moral order, homosexual relations are acts which lack an es- sential and indispensable finality. In Sacred Scripture they are con- demned as a serious depravity and even presented as the sad con- sequence of rejecting God.^® This judgment of Scripture does not of course permit us to conclude that all those who suffer from this anom- aly are personally responsible for it, but it does attest to the fact that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered and can in no case be approved of. Masturbation 9. The traditional Catholic doctrine that masturbation consti- tutes a grave moral disorder is often called into doubt or expressly de- nied today. It is said that psycholo- gy and sociology show that it is a normal phenomenon of sexual de- velopment, especially among the young. It is stated that there is real and serious fault only in the mea- sure that the subject deliberately indulges in solitary pleasure closed in on self (“ipsation”), because in this case the act would indeed be radically opposed to the loving communion between persons of different sex which some hold is what is principally sought in the use of the sexual faculty. This opinion is contradictory to the teaching and pastoral prac- tice of the Catholic Church. What- ever the force of certain arguments of a biological and philosophical nature, which have sometimes been used by theologians, in fact both the magisterium of the Church — in the course of a constant tradition — and the moral sense of the faith- ful have declared without hesita- tion that masturbation is an intrin- sically and seriously disordered act.^^' The main reason is that, what- « ever the motive for acting in this way, the deliberate use of the sex- ual faculty outside normal conjugal relations essentially contradicts the finality of the faculty. For it lacks the sexual relationship called for by the moral order, namely the rela- tionship which realizes “the full sense of mutual self-giving and human procreation in the context of true love. ”^° All deliberate exercise of sexu- ality must be reserved to this regu- lar relationship. Even if it cannot be proved that Scripture condemns 12 this sin by name, the tradition of the Church has rightly understood it to be condemned in the New Tes- tament when the latter speaks of “impurity,” “unchasteness” and other vices contrary to chastity and continence. Sociological surveys are able to show the frequency of this disorder according to the places, popula- tions or circumstances studied. In this way facts are discovered, but facts do not constitute a criterion for judging the moral value of human acts.^^ The frequency of the phenomenon in question is certain- ly to be linked with man’s innate weakness, following original sin; but it is also to be linked with the loss of a sense of God, with the corruption of morals engendered by the com- mercialization of vice, with the unrestrained licentiousness of so many public entertainments and publications, as well as with the ne- glect of modesty, which is the guardian of chastity. Judging Moral Responsibility On the subject of masturba- tion modern psychology provides much valid and useful information for formulating a more equitable judgment on moral responsibility and for orienting pastoral action. Psychology helps one to see how the immaturity of adolescence (which can sometimes persist after that age), psychological imbalance or habit can influence behavior, di- minishing the deliberate character of the act and bringing about a situ- ation whereby subjectively there 13 may not always be serious fault. But in general, the absence of serious responsibility must not be presumed; this would be to misun- derstand people’s moral capacity. In the pastoral ministry, in order to form an adequate judgment in concrete cases, the ha- bitual behavior of people will be considered in its totality, not only with regard to the individual’s practice of charity and of justice but also with regard to the individ- ual’s care in observing the particu- lar precepts of chastity. In particu- lar, one will have to examine whether the individual is using the necessary means, both natural and supernatural, which Christian as- ceticism from its long experience recommends for overcoming the passions and progressing in virtue. Sex and Mortal Sin 10. The observance of the moral law in the field of sexuality and the practice of chastity have been considerably endangered, especially among less fervent Chris- tians, by the current tendency to minimize as far as possible, when not denying outright, the reality of grave sin, at least in people’s actual lives. There are those who go as far as to affirm that mortal sin, which causes separation from God, only exists in the formal refusal directly opposed to God’s call, or in that selfishness which completely and deliberately closes itself to the love of neighbor. They say that it is only then that there comes into play the fundamental option, that is to say the decision which totally commits the person and which is necessary if mortal sin is to exist; by this option the person, from the depths of the personality, takes up or ratifies a fundamental attitude toward God or people. On the contrary, so- called “peripheral”- actions (which, it is said, usually do not involve de- cisive choice), do not go so far as to change the fundamental option, the less so since they often come, as is observed, from habit. Thus such actions can weaken the fundamen- tal option, but not to such a degree as to change it completely. Now according to these au- thors, a change of the fundamen- tal option toward God less easily comes about in the field of sexual activity, where a person generally does not transgress the mor^ order in a fully deliberate and responsible manner but rather under the influ- ence of passion, weakness, imma- turity, sometimes even through the illusion of thus showing love for someone else. To these causes there is often added the pressure of the social environment. In reality, it is precisely the fundamental option which in the last resort defines a person’s moral disposition. But it can be complete- ly changed by particular acts, espe- cially when, as often happens, these have been prepared for by previous more superficial acts. Whatever the case, it is wrong to say that particu- lar acts are not enough to constitute mortal sin. According to the Church’s teaching, mortal sin, which is op- posed to God, does not consist only in formal and direct resistance to the commandment of charity. It is equally to be found in this opposi- tion to authentic love which is in- cluded in every deliberate trans- gression, in serious matter, of each of the moral laws. Christ Himself has indi- cated the double commandment of love as the basis of the moral life. But on this commandment depends “the whole law, and the prophets also.”^^ It therefore includes the other particular precepts. In fact, to the young man who asked, “. . . what good deed must I do to possess eternal life? ” Jesus replied: “. . . if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments. . . . You must not kill. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not bring false witness. Honor your father and mother, and: you must love your neighbor as your- self.”^^ A person therefore sins mortal- ly not only when his action comes from direct contempt for love of God and neighbor, but also when he consciously and freely, for what- ever reason, chooses something which is seriously disordered. For in this choice, as has been said above, there is already included contempt for the divine command- ment: the person . turns himself away from God and loses charity. Now according to Christian tradi- tion and the Church’s teaching, and as right reason'also recognizes, the moral order of sexuality in- volves such high values of human life that every direct violation of this order is objectively serious.^'* Subjective Seriousness It is true that in sins of the sex- ual order, in view of their kind and their causes, it more easily happens that free consent is not fully given; this is a fact which calls for caution in all judgment as to the subject’s responsibility. In this matter it is particularly opportune to recall the following words of Scripture: “Man looks at appearances but God looks at the heart. However, although prudence is recommended in judg- ing the subjective seriousness of a particular sinful act, it in no way follows that one can hold the view that in the sexual field mortal sins are not committed. Pastors of souls must therefore exercise patience and goodness; but they are not allowed to render God’s commandments null, nor to reduce unreasonably people’s re- sponsibility. “To diminish in no way the saving teaching of Christ constitutes an eminent form of charity for souls. But this must ever be accompanied by patience and goodness, such as the Lord Himself gave example of in dealing with people. Having come not to con- demn but to save. He was indeed intransigent with evil, but merciful toward individuals. The Virtue of Chastity 11. As has been said above, the purpose of this declaration is to draw the attention of the faithful in present-day circumstances to cer- tain errors and modes of behavior which they must guard against. The virtue of chastity, however, is in no way confined solely to avoid- ing the faults already listed. It is aimed at attaining higher and more positive goals. It is a virtue which concerns the whole personality, as regards both interior and outward behavior. Individuals should be en- dowed with this virtue according to their state in life; for some it will mean virginity or celibacy con- secrated to God, which is an emi- nent way of giving oneself more easily to God alone with an undivid- ed heart. For others it will take the form determined by the moral law, according to whether they are mar- ried or single. But whatever the state of life, chastity is not simply an external state; it must make a person’s heart pure in accordance with Christ’s words: “You have learned how it was said: You must not commit adultery. But I say this to you : if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Chastity is included in that continence which St. Paul numbers among the gifts of the Holy Spirit, while he condemns sensuality as a vice particularly unworthy of the Christian and one which precludes entry into the kingdom of heaven. ^® “What God wants is for all to be holy. He wants you to keep away from fornication, and each one of you to know how to use the body 15 that belongs to him in a way that is holy and honorable, not giving way to selfish lust like the pagans who do not know God. He wants no- body at all ever to sin by taking ad- vantage of a brother in these mat- ters. ... We have been called by God to be holy, not to be immoral. In other words, anyone who objects is not objecting to a human authori- ty, but to God, who gives you His Holy Spirit.’’ “Among you there must not be even a mention of fornication or impurity in any of its forms, or prom- iscuity: this would hardly become the saints! For you can be quite cer- tain that nobody who actually in- dulges in fornication or impurity or promiscuity — which is worship- ping a false god — can inherit any- thing of the kingdom of God. Do not let anyone deceive you with empty arguments: it is for this loose living that God’s anger comes down on those who rebel against Him. Make sure that you are not includ- ed with them. You were darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord; be like children of light, for the effects of the light are seen in complete goodness and right living and truth. “Sin Against Your Own Body” In addition, the Apostle points out the specifically Christian motive for practicing chastity when he condemns the sin of fornication not only in the measure that this ac- tion is injurious to one’s neighbor or to the social order but because the fornicator offends against Christ who has redeemed him with His blood and of whom he is a member, and against the Holy Spirit of whom he is the temple. “You know, surely, that your bodies are members making up the body of Christ. ... All the other sins are committed outside the body; but to fornicate is to sin against your own body. Your body, you know, is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you since you re- ceived Him from God. You are not your own property; you have been bought and paid for. That is why you should use your body for the glory of God.”'^^ The more the faithful appreci- ate the value of chastity and its nec- essary role in their lives as men and women, the better they will under- stand, by a kind of spiritual in- stinct, its moral requirements and counsels. In the same way they will know better how to accept and carry out, in a spirit of docility to the Church’s teaching, what an upright conscience dictates in con- crete cases. 12. The Apostle St. Paul de- scribes in vivid terms the painful interior conflict of the person en- slaved to sin: the conflict between “the law of his mind” and the “law of sin which dwells in his mem- bers ” and which holds him cap- tive.'^® But man can achieve libera- tion from his “body doomed to death” through the grace of Jesus Christ.'*'* This grace is enjoyed by those who have justified by it and whom “the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set free from the 16 law of sin and death.”'’® It is for this reason that the Apostle adjures them: “That is why you must not let sin reign in your mortal bodies or command your obedience to bodily passions.”®® This liberation, which fits one to serve God in newness of life, does not however suppress the concupiscence deriving from origi- nal sin, nor the promptings to evil in this world, which is “in the power of the evil one.”®^ This is why the Apostle exhorts the faithful to overcome temptations by the power of God®® and to “stand against the wiles of the devil”®® by faith, watchful prayer"*® and an aus- terity of life that brings the body into subjection to the Spirit.^* Means for Living a Chaste Life Living the Christian life by following in the footsteps of Christ requires that everyone should “deny himself and take up his cross daily, sustained by the hope of reward, for “if we have died with Him, we shall also reign with Him.”"*® In accordance with these pressing exhortations, the faithful of the present time, and indeed today more than ever, must use the. means which have always been rec- ommended by the Church for liv- ing a chaste life. These means are: discipline of the senses and the' mind, watchfulness and prudence in avoiding occasions of sin, the ob- servance of modesty, moderation in recreation, wholesome pursuits, as- siduous prayer and frequent recep- tion of the sacraments of penance and the Eucharist. Young people especially should earnestly foster devotion to the Immaculate Mother of God, and take as exam- ples the lives of the saints and other faithful people, especially young ones, who excelled in the practice of chastity. It is important in particular that everyone should have a high esteem for the virtue of chastity, its beauty and its power of attraction. This virtue increases the human person’s dignity and enables him to love truly, disinterestedly, unself- ishly and with respect for others. Bishops’ Responsibility 13. It is up to the bishops to instruct the faithful in the moral teaching concerning sexual morali- ty, however great may be the dif- ficulties in carrying out this work in the face of ideas and practices gen- erally prevailing today. This tradi- tional doctrine must be studied more deeply. It must be handed on in a way capable of properly en- lightening the consciences of those confronted with new situations and it must be enriched with a discern- ment of all the elements that can truthfully and usefully* be brought forward about the meaning and value of human sexuality. But the principles and-^ norms of moral living reaffirmed in this declaration must be faithfully held and taught. It will especially be necessary to bring the faithful to understand that the Church holds these principles not as old and in- 17 violable superstitions, nor out of some Manichean prejudice, as is often alleged, but rather because she knows with certainty that they are in complete harmony with the divine order of creation and with the spirit of Christ, and therefore also with human dignity. It is likewise the bishops’ mis- sion to see that a sound doctrine enlightened by faith and directed by the magisterium of the Church is taught in faculties of theology and in seminaries. Bishops must also ensure that confessors enlight- en people’s consciences and that catechetical instruction is given in perfect fidelity to Catholic doc- trine. It rests with the bishops, the priests and^ their collaborators to alert the faithful against the errone- ous opinions often expressed in books, reviews and public meet- ings. Responsibilities of Parents Parents, in the first place, and also teachers of the young, must endeavor to lead their chil- dren and their pupils, by way of a complete education, to the psycho- logical, emotional and moral matu- rity befitting their age. They will therefore prudently give them in- formation suited to their age; and they will assiduously form their wills in accordance with Christian morals, not only by advice but above all by the example of their own lives, relying on God’s help, which they will obtain in prayer. They will likewise protect the young from the many dangers of which they are quite unaware. Artists, writers and all those who use the means of social com- munication should exercise their profession in accordance with their Christian faith and with a clear awareness of the enormous influ- ence which they can have. They should remember that “the pri- macy of the objective moral order must be regarded as absolute by all, and that it is wrong for them to give priority above it to any so- called esthetic purpose, or to mate- rial advantage or to success. Whether it be a question of ar- tistic or literary works, public enter- tainment or providing information, each individual in his or her own domain must show tact, discretion, moderation and a true sense of val- ues. In this way, far from adding to the growing permissiveness of be- havior, each individual will contrib- ute toward controlling it and even toward making the moral climate of society more wholesome. All lay people, for their part, by virtue of their rights and duties in the work of the apostolate, should endeavor to act in the same way. Finally, it is necessary to re- mind everyone of the words of the Second Vatican Council: “This Holy Synod likewise affirms that children and young people have a right to be encouraged to weigh moral values with an upright con- science, and to embrace them by personal choice, to know and love God more adequately. Hence, it 18 earnestly entreats all who exercise government over people or preside over the work of education to see that youth is never deprived of this sacred right. At the audience granted on Nov. 7, 1975, to the undersigned prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Sovereign Pontiff by Divine Provi- dence Pope Paul VI approved this declaration “On Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics,” con- firmed it and ordered its publica- tion. Given in Rome, at the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on Dec. 29, 1975. FRANJO CARD. SEPER Prefect JEROME HAMER, O P. Titular Archbishop of Lorium Secretary Footnotes 1. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 47:AAS 58 ( 1966), p. 1067. 2. Cf. Apostolic constitution Regimini Eccle- siae Universae, 29 (Aug. 15, 1967); AAS 59 (1967), p. 897. 3. Gaudium et Spes, 16: AAS (1966), p. 1037. 4. John 8:12. 5. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, dec- laration Dignitatis Humanae, 3: AAS 58 (1966), p. 931. 6.1 Tim. 3:15. 7. Dignitatis Humanae, 14: AAS 58 (1966), p. 940; cf. Pius XI, encyclical letter Cast! Con- nubii, Dec. 31, 1930; AAS 22 (1930), pp. 579- 580; Pius XII, Allocution of Nov. 2, 1954: AAS 56 (1954), pp. 671-672; John XXIII, encyclical letter Mater et Magistra, May 15, 1961: AAS 53 (1961), p. 457; Paul VI, encyclical letter Human- ae Vitae, 4, July 25, 1968: AAS 60 (1968), p. 483. 8. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, declaration Gravissimum Educationis, 1, 8: AAS 58 (1966), pp. 729-730; 734-736. Gaudium et Spes, 29, 60, 67: AAS 58 (1966), pp. 1048-1049, 1080-1081, 1088-1089. 9. Gaudium et Spes, 51: AAS 58 (1966), p. 1072. 10. Ibid.; cf. also 49: loc. cit., pp. 1069-1070. 11. Ibid., 49, 50: loc. cit., pp. 1069-1072. 12. The present declaration does not go into further detail regarding the norms of sexual life within marriage; these norms have been clearly taught in the encyclical letters Casti Connubii and Humanae Vitae. 13. Cf. Matt. 19:4-6. 14. 1 Cor. 7:9. 15. Cf. Eph. 5:25-32. 16. Sexual intercourse outside marriage is for- mally condemned: 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:9; 7:2; 10:8; Eph. 5:5; 1 Tim. 1:10; Heb. 13:4; and with ex- plicit reasons: 1 Cor. 6:12-20. 17. Cf. Innocent IV, Letter Sub catholica professione. Mar. 6, 1254, DS 835; Pius II, Propos. damn, in Ep. Cum sicut accepimus, Nov. 14, 1459, DS 1367; Decrees of the Holy Of- fice, Sept. 24, 1665, DS 2045; Mar. 2, 1679, DS 2148. Pius XI, encyclical letter Casti Connubii, Dec. 31, 1930: AAS 22 (1930), pp. 558-559. 18. Rom. 1:24-27; ‘“That is why God left them to their filthy enjoyments and the practices with which they dishonor their own bodies, since they have given up divine truth for a lie and have worshipped and served creatures instead of the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen! That 19 is why God has abandoned tliem to degrading passions: why their women have turned from natural intercourse to unnatural practices and why their menfolk have given up natural inter- course to be consumed with passion for each other, men doing shameless things with men and getting an appropriate reward for their per- version.” See also what St. Paul says of mascu- lorum concubitores in 1 Cor. 6:10, 1 Tim. 1:10. 19. Cf. Leo IX, letter Ad splendidum niten- tis, in the year 1054: DS 687-688, Decree of the Holy OHice, Mar. 2, 1679: DS 2149; Pius XII, Allocutio, Oct. 8, 1953: AAS 45 (1953), pp. 677- 678; May 19, 1956: AAS 48 (1956), pp. 472-473. 20. Gaudium et Spes, 51: AAS 58 (1966), p. 1072. 21. “...if sociological surveys are useful for better discovering the thought patterns of the people of a particular place, the anxieties and needs of those to whom we proclaim the word of God, and also the opposition made to it by mod- ern reasoning through the widespread notion that outside science there exists no legitimate form of knowledge, still the conclusions drawn from such surveys could not of themselves con- stitute a determining criterion of truth,” Paul VI, apostolic exhortation Quinque iam anni, Dec. 8, 1970, AAS 63 (1971), p. 102. 22. Matt. 22:38, 40. 23. Matt. 19:16-19. 24. Cf. note 17 and 19 above: Decree of the Holy Office, Mar. 18, 1666, DS 2060; Paul VI, encyclical letter Humanae Vitae, 13, 14: AAS 60 (1968), pp. 489-496. 25. 1 Sam. 16:7. 26. Paul VI, encyclical letter Humanae Vitae, 29: AAS 60 (1968), p. 501. 27. Cf. 1 Cor. 7:7, 34; Council of Trent Ses- sion XXIV, can. 10: DS 1810; Second Vatican Council, Constitution Lumen Gentium, 42, 43, 44: AAS 57 (1965), pp. 47-51; Synod of Bishops, De Sacerdotio Ministeriali, part II, 4, b: AAS 63 (1971), pp. 915-916. 28. Matt. 5:28. 29. Cf. Gal. 5: 19-23; 1 Cor. 6:9-11. 30. 1 Thess. 4:3-8; cf. Col. 3:5-7; 1 Tim. 1 : 10. 31. Eph. 5:3-8; cf. 4:18-19. 32. 1 Cor. 6:15, 18-20. 33. Cf. Rom. 7:23. 34. Cf. Rom. 7:24-24. 35. Cf. Rom. 8:2. 36. Rom. 6:12. 37.1 John 5:19. 38. Cf. 1 Cor. 10:13. 39. Eph. 6:11. 40. Cf. Eph. 6:16, 18. 41. Cf. 1Cor.9:27. 42. Luke 9:23. 43. 2 Tim. 2:11-12. 44. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, de- cree Inter Mirifica, 6: AAS 56 (1964), p. 147. 45. Gravissimum Educationis, 1: AAS 58 (1966), p. 730. 20 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. What are the effects of sexuality upon the human person? 2. What difficulties have arisen today in the area of sexual morality? 3. How must the Church react to this and why? 4. In moral matters, is the individual the sole arbiter of his destiny? What is the Christian view of this question? 5. Where do we find the fundamental, immutable principles of life? 6. Why aren't natural laws or the precepts of Sacred Scripture to be abrogated in the face of cultural change? 7. Have the moral principles of sexuality become out of date? 8. How did the Council Fathers at Vatican II view this question, par- ticularly in relation to sexuality and marriage? 9. Some have said that sexual union is permissible outside of marriage if true love and the intention to marry exists. How does this proposition stand in the light of Church teachings and why? 10. How did Christ and St. Paul view the importance of a stable union as the prerequisite for sexual union? 11. Where does love find its safeguard? 12. Where is this stability guaranteed and why? 13. What does St. Matthew tell us of what Christ said about mar- riage? 14. What make» for a Sacramental marriage? 15. Why is pre-marital sex wrong, even for those planning marriage? 16. Why do pre-marital relations usually exclude the possibility of children? 17. How must the homosexual be treated pastorally? 21 18. What are the causes of homosexuality? 19. How are homosexual relations viewed in the light of the objective moral order? How does Scripture view homosexual acts? 20. What does the act of masturbation contradict and lack in regard to sexuality and the moral order? 21. Does the frequency of a wrong act, or its widespread acceptance, constitute a criterion for judging its moral value? 22. Concerning masturbation, what useful information has been sup- plied by modern psychology? In what light must this information be viewed pastorally? 23. What are the roots of masturbation? 24. Are individual acts, of and by themselves, enough to constitute mortal sin or are they only serious in that they may tend to lead a person to an eventual rejection of God’s call? 25. The double commandment of love — loVe of God and love of neighbor— is the basis of the moral life. Does this then rule out particular precepts or commandments? 26. Does a person sin mortally only when his action comes from direct contempt for love of God and neighbor? 27. Is chastity simply a negative virtue, aimed at only avoiding faults? 28. How does St. Paul view the virtue of chastity and what does he point out as the specifically Christian motive for its practice? 29. Man finds liberation through the grace of Christ. But does this. liberation mean that all temptation has been wiped away? 30. We are all called to follow in the footsteps of Christ. What are tho means recommended by the Church for living a chaste life? 31. Why does the Church hold to these moral principles as outlined in this document? 32. What is the role of bishops^ priests, parents and all lay people in the proper formation of the moral life? 22