The Church’s View of Sex and Marriage
SEX and marriage are indeed topics of worldwide interest. Perhaps on no other matters do people more commonly seek advice and guidance. The Bible has much to say relative to sex, probably more than most people realize. And so does the major religion of the Western world, the Roman Catholic Church.
By what it has taught regarding sex, the Catholic Church has greatly influenced the lives of millions of its adherents. In particular, the lives of priests and nuns have been affected. Has the teaching of the church had a wholesome, beneficial effect or a bad one? How does the view of the Catholic Church on sex compare with what the Bible teaches? This series of articles will examine these matters.
The attitude of the Roman Catholic Church toward sex and marriage is indicated in A Catholic Dictionary, which states: “The principles which have induced the Church to impose celibacy on her clergy are . . . that, being called to the altar, they may embrace the life of continence [restraint from sexual intercourse], which is holier than that of marriage.”
If, according to Catholic doctrine, refraining from sexual intercourse is “holier,” where does this leave marriage? This is a question that has long concerned historians. Thus, A History of Christianity, by Paul Johnson, asks: “If, therefore, celibacy were superior, and marriage inferior, though licit, did this not imply that sex was intrinsically evil and even in the context of marriage a form of licensed sin?”
The insistence of Pope John Paul II on increased devotion to “the Virgin Mary” has done nothing to alleviate this impression that marriage is unclean, if not actually sinful. The dogma of the perpetual virginity of Mary perpetuates the idea that sexual relations are unclean. The dogma implies that the marriage act, even after the birth of Jesus, would have sullied Mary’s reputation as a holy woman.
Small wonder that “the mystery of original sin” and “the perpetual virginity of Mary” are listed among the big problems bothering sincere Catholics. “They could have added papal infallibility, which is widely questioned,” observes Catholic author Jacques Duquesne.
Doubtless, the papal decree that has done the most to undermine the faith of Catholics in papal infallibility is the encyclical Humanae Vitae. Issued by Paul VI in 1968, this document reaffirmed the official Catholic doctrine prohibiting the use of artificial means of birth control. The Encyclopædia Britannica states that “this encyclical provoked adverse reactions [among Catholics] that may be described as the most violent attacks on the authority of papal teaching in modern times. Similarly, his [Paul VI’s] firm stand on the retention of priestly celibacy . . . evoked much harsh criticism.”
It is evident that the views of the Roman Catholic Church on marriage and priestly celibacy have caused problems for Catholics. Why has the church created these problems for itself? What led it to impose celibacy on priests and nuns and to insist on the perpetual virginity of Mary?