1. MTH 513 Marriage, Family and Sexuality Introduction

2. Introduction The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring (CCC 1601).

3. Introduction God who created man out of love also calls him to love – the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being. For man is created in the image and likeness of God who is himself love. Since God created him man and woman, their mutual love becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves man (CCC 1604).

4. Introduction Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another…Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. The Lord himself shows that this signifies an unbreakable union of their two lives…(CCC 1605).

5. Introduction A correct understanding of God and of the human person is essential to the teaching of the Church on the subject of human sexuality.

6. Introduction Man’s origin and the purpose of his existence are rooted in the truths of his being.

7. Introduction What happens when the truth about the origin and purpose of man is rejected outright or dismissed as merely one opinion among many?

8. Problem We have to go to the heart of the tragedy being experienced by modern man: the eclipse of the sense of God and man, typical of a social and cultural climate dominated by secularism…(EV 21§1).

9. Problem Without the creator the creature would disappear…But when God is forgotten the creature itself grows unintelligible. Man is no longer able to see himself as ‘mysteriously different’ from other earthly creatures; he regards himself merely as one more living being, as an organism which, at most, has reached a very high state of perfection (EV 22§1).

10. Family and Human Sexuality Today, two dynamics usually exist side- by-side: Today, two dynamics usually exist side- by-side: 1)The Catholic vision of the human person and its relation to human sexuality: Based on the dignity of the human person (made in God’s image and likeness: Gen 1:26- 27). Sexuality as a great gift of God. Right application leads to true happiness and fulfillment. -Disordered application leads to destruction.

11. Family and Human Sexuality 2)Modern interpretation of marriage and human sexuality. -Largely a human institution. -Created by men at a particular point in history – little bearing on life today. -Autonomy is the supreme value. -Church’s involvement has positive and negative elements.

12. Family and Human Sexuality Christian thought on the subject of sexual morality: Christian thought on the subject of sexual morality: Before 1930 an all Christians, not just Catholics, upheld the universal Christian teaching on the subject.

13. Family and Human Sexuality What caused the shift? What caused the shift? Four Factors: 1)Moralities of Obligation. Strong public reaction against this basis for morality around the time of the Second Vatican Council (Pinckaers). More educated populace – asked “why” instead of merely accepting religious teaching at face-value.

14. Family and Human Sexuality 2)Autonomy and Individualism. Began in the middle to late 1960s. Reaction against authority in every aspect of society: political, religious, social. Secular humanism and relativism – no objective truth (e.g., Coach Majerus’ comments). Developed under a philosophical framework that exalted man in his capacity to reason (Rationalism) or his capacity for feeling (Romanticism).

15. Family and Human Sexuality 3)The Rise of Contraceptive Technologies and the Legalization  Acceptance of Abortion. It seems reasonable to conclude that the sexual revolution would not have had the impact and far- reaching consequences if the people involved had not had access to inexpensive contraceptives or recourse to abortion.

16. Family and Human Sexuality 4)The inability or unwillingness of many Catholic moral teachers to uphold and clearly articulate the Church’s positive vision of sex and marriage. -Lack of a unified front. -Abrogated the role of the theologian – to teach the truths of the Church in a way that is understandable to each age. -Unprepared to discuss modern issues of sexual morality. -Persuade – Andrew Greeley.

17. Family and Human Sexuality All four factors contributed to the rejection of the consistent teaching of the Catholic moral tradition regarding the truth about the human person and the purpose of human sexuality. Rejection of or misinterpretation of the natural law. Rejection of the divine law – Divine Revelation (God tells us who he is and who we are).

18. Family and Human Sexuality The Catholic Moral Tradition. The Catholic Moral Tradition. -Consistent and universal from the beginning. >Questions and speculation. >Development in understanding of the goodness and dignity of married conjugal love. >Moral teaching opposed to sexual license and sin is unchanged from the beginning. -Understanding of the human person and human sexuality is based upon natural law and divine law. -Objective truths, not simply one opinion among others. -Purpose of the Church’s Magisterium. >Uphold and preserve the Deposit of Faith (Scripture and Tradition) across all times and cultures.