PERSONA HUMANA
DECLARATION ONCERTAIN QUESTIONS
CONCERNING SEXUALETHICS
Introduction
According tocontemporary scientific research, the human person is so profoundly affected bysexuality that it must be considered as one of the factors which give to eachindividual's life the principal traits that distinguish it. In fact it is fromsex that the human person receives the characteristics which, on thebiological, psychological and spiritual levels, make that person a man or awoman, and thereby largely condition his or her progress towards maturity andinsertion into society. Hence sexual matters, as is obvious to everyone, todayconstitute a theme frequently and openly dealt with in books, reviews,magazines and other means of social communication.
In the presentperiod, the corruption of morals has increased, and one of the most seriousindications of this corruption is the unbridled exaltation of sex. Moreover,through the means of social communication and through public entertainment thiscorruption has reached the point of invading the field of education and ofinfecting the general mentality.
In thiscontext certain educators, teachers and moralists have been able to contributeto a better understanding and integration into life of the values proper toeach of the sexes; on the other hand there are those who have put forwardconcepts and modes of behavior which are contrary to the true moral exigenciesof the human person. Some members of the latter group have even gone so far asto favor a licentious hedonism.
As a result,in the course of a few years, teachings, moral criteria and modes of livinghitherto faithfully preserved have been very much unsettled, even amongChristians. There are many people today who, being confronted with widespreadopinions opposed to the teaching which they received from the Church, have cometo wonder what must still hold as true.
II
Confusion of Morals
The Churchcannot 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 bothfor the personal lives of Christians and for the social life of our time.[1]
The Bishopsare daily led to note the growing difficulties experienced by the faithful inobtaining knowledge of wholesome moral teaching, especially in sexual matters,and of the growing difficulties experienced by pastors in expounding thisteaching effectively. The Bishops know that by their pastoral charge they arecalled upon to meet the needs of their faithful in this very serious matter,and important documents dealing with it have already been published by some ofthem or by Episcopal conferences. Nevertheless, since the erroneous opinionsand resulting deviations are continuing to spread everywhere, the SacredCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, by virtue of its function in theuniversal Church[2] and by a mandate of the Supreme Pontiff, has judged itnecessary to publish the present Declaration.
III
The Natural Law
The people ofour time are more and more convinced that the human person's dignity andvocation demand that they should discover, by the light of their ownintelligence, the values innate in their nature, that they should ceaselesslydevelop these values and realize them in their lives, in order to achieve anever greater development.
In moralmatters man cannot make value judgments according to his personal whim:"In the depths of his conscience, man detects a law which he does notimpose on himself, but which holds him to obedience. . . . For man has in hisheart a law written by God. To obey it is the very dignity of man; according toit he will be judged."[3]
Moreover,through His revelation God has made known to us Christians His plan ofsalvation, and He has held up to us Christ, the Savior and Sanctifier, in Histeaching and example, as the supreme and immutable Law of life: "I am thelight of the world; anyone who follows Me will not be walking in the dark, hewill have the light of life."[4]
Thereforethere can be no true promotion of man's dignity unless the essential order ofhis nature is respected. Of course, in the history of civilization many of theconcrete conditions and needs of human life have changed and will continue tochange. But all evolution of morals and every type of life must be kept withinthe limits imposed by the immutable principles based upon every human person'sconstitutive elements and essential relations - elements and relations whichtranscend historical contingency.
Thesefundamental 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 humancommunity, by a plan conceived in wisdom and love. Man has been made by God toparticipate in this law, with the result that, under the gentle disposition ofDivine Providence, he can come to perceive ever increasingly the unchangingtruth."[5] This Divine Law is accessible to our minds.
IV
The Church's Authority
Hence, thosemany people are in error who today assert that one can find neither in humannature nor in the revealed law any absolute and immutable norm to serve forparticular actions other than the one which expresses itself in the general lawof charity and respect for human dignity. As a proof of their assertion theyput forward the view that so-called norms of the natural law or precepts ofSacred Scripture are to be regarded only as given expressions of a form ofparticular culture at a certain moment of history.
But in fact,Divine Revelation and, in its own proper order, philosophical wisdom emphasizethe authentic exigencies of human nature. They thereby necessarily manifest theexistence of immutable laws inscribed in the constitutive elements of humannature and which are revealed to be identical in all beings endowed withreason.
Furthermore,Christ instituted His Church as "the pillar and bulwark of truth."[6]With the Holy Spirit's assistance, she ceaselessly preserves and transmitswithout error the truths of the moral order, and she authentically interpretsnot only the revealed positive law but "also those principles of the moralorder which have their origin in human nature itself"[7] and which concernman's full development and sanctification. Now in fact the Church throughouther history has always considered a certain number of precepts of the naturallaw as having an absolute and immutable value, and in their transgression shehas seen a
contradiction of the teaching and spirit of the Gospel.
V
Sexual Ethics
Since sexualethics concern fundamental values of human and Christian life, this generalteaching equally applies to sexual ethics. In this domain there existprinciples and norms which the Church has always unhesitatingly transmitted aspart of her teaching, however much the opinions and morals of the world mayhave been opposed to them. These principles and norms in no way owe theirorigin to a certain type of culture, but rather to knowledge of the Divine Lawand of human nature. They therefore cannot be considered as having become outof date or doubtful under the pretext that a new cultural situation has arisen.
It is theseprinciples which inspired the exhortations and directives given by the SecondVatican Council for an education and an organization of social life takingaccount of the equal dignity of man and woman while respecting theirdifference.[8]
Speaking of"the sexual nature of man and the human faculty of procreation," theCouncil noted that they "wonderfully exceed the dispositions of lowerforms of life."[9] It then took particular care to expound the principlesand criteria which concern human sexuality in marriage, and which are based uponthe finality of the specific function of sexuality.
In this regardthe Council declares that the moral goodness of the acts proper to conjugallife, acts which are ordered according to true human dignity, "does notdepend solely on sincere intentions or on an evaluation of motives. It must bedetermined by objective standards. These, based on the nature of the humanperson and his acts, preserve the full sense of mutual self-giving and humanprocreation in the context of true love."[10]
These finalwords briefly sum up the Council's teaching - more fully expounded in anearlier part of the same Constitution[11] - on the finality of the sexual actand on the principal criterion of its morality: it is respect for its finalitythat ensures the moral goodness of this act.
This sameprinciple, which the Church holds from Divine Revelation and from her authenticinterpretation of the natural law, is also the basis of her traditionaldoctrine, which states that the use of the sexual function has its true meaningand moral rectitude only in true marriage.[12]
VI
To Oppose Serious Errors
It is not thepurpose of the present Declaration to deal with all the abuses of the sexualfaculty, nor with all the elements involved in the practice of chastity. Itsobject is rather to repeat the Church's doctrine on certain particular points,in view of the urgent need to oppose serious errors and widespread aberrantmodes of behavior.
VII
On Sexual Union before Marriage
Today thereare many who vindicate the right to sexual union before marriage, at least inthose cases where a firm intention to marry and an affection which is alreadyin some way conjugal in the psychology of the subjects require this completion,which they judge to be connatural. This is especially the case when thecelebration of the marriage is impeded by circumstances or when this intimaterelationship seems necessary in order for love to be preserved.
This opinionis contrary to Christian doctrine, which states that every genital act must bewithin the framework of marriage. However firm the intention of those whopractice such premature sexual relations may be, the fact remains that theserelations cannot ensure, in sincerity and fidelity, the interpersonalrelationship between a man and a woman, nor especially can they protect thisrelationship from whims and caprices. Now it is a stable union that Jesuswilled, and He restored its original requirement, beginning with the sexualdifference. "Have you not read that the Creator from the beginning madethem male and female and that He said: This is why a man must leave father andmother, and cling to his wife, and the two become one body? They are no longertwo, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must notdivide."[13] St. Paul will be even more explicit when he shows that ifunmarried people or widows cannot live chastely they have no other alternativethan the stable union of marriage: ". . it is better to marry than to beaflame with passion."[14] Through marriage, in fact, the love of marriedpeople is taken up into that love which Christ irrevocably has for theChurch,[15] while dissolute sexual union[16] defiles the temple of the HolySpirit which the Christian has become. Sexual union therefore is onlylegitimate if a definitive community of life has been established between theman and the woman.
This is whatthe Church has always understood and taught,[17] and she finds a profoundagreement with her doctrine in men's reflection and in the lessons of history.
Experienceteaches us that love must find its safeguard in the stability of marriage, ifsexual intercourse is truly to respond to the requirements of its own finalityand to those of human dignity. These requirements call for a conjugal contractsanctioned and guaranteed by society - a contract which establishes a state oflife of capital importance both for the exclusive union of the man and the womanand for the good of their family and of the human community. Most often, infact, premarital relations exclude the possibility of children. What isrepresented to be conjugal love is not able, as it absolutely should be, todevelop into paternal and maternal love. Or, if it does happen to do so, thiswill be to the detriment of the children, who will be deprived of the stableenvironment in which they ought to develop in order to find in it the way andthe means of their insertion into society as a whole.
The consentgiven by people who wish to be united in marriage must therefore be manifestedexternally and in a manner which makes it valid in the eyes of society. As faras the faithful are concerned, their consent to the setting up of a communityof conjugal life must be expressed according to the laws of the Church. It is aconsent which makes their marriage a Sacrament of Christ.
VIII
On Homosexual Relations
At the presenttime there are those who, basing themselves on observations in thepsychological order, have begun to judge indulgently, and even to excusecompletely, homosexual relations between certain people. This they do inopposition to the constant teaching of the Magisterium and to the moral senseof the Christian people.
A distinctionis drawn, and it seems with some reason, between homosexuals whose tendencycomes from a false education, from a lack of normal sexual development, fromhabit, from bad example, or from other similar causes, and is transitory or atleast not incurable; and homosexuals who are definitively such because of somekind of innate instinct or a pathological constitution judged to be incurable.
In regard tothis second category of subjects, some people conclude that their tendency isso natural that it justifies in their case sexual relations within a sincerecommunion of life and love analogous to marriage, in so far as such homosexualsfeel incapable of enduring a solitary life.
In thepastoral field, these homosexuals must certainly be treated with understandingand sustained in the hope of overcoming their personal difficulties and theirinability to fit into society. Their culpability will be judged with prudence.But no pastoral method can be employed which would give moral justification tothese acts on the grounds that they would be consonant with the condition ofsuch people. For according to the objective moral order, homosexual relationsare acts which lack an essential and indispensable finality. In SacredScripture they are condemned as a serious depravity and even presented as thesad consequence of rejecting God.[18] This judgment of Scripture does not ofcourse permit us to conclude that all those who suffer from this anomaly arepersonally responsible for it, but it does attest to the fact that homosexualacts are intrinsically disordered and can in no case be approved of.
IX
On Masturbation
Thetraditional Catholic doctrine that masturbation constitutes a grave moraldisorder is often called into doubt or expressly denied today. It is said thatpsychology and sociology show that it is a normal phenomenon of sexualdevelopment, especially among the young. It is stated that there is real andserious fault only in the measure that the subject deliberately indulges insolitary pleasure closed in on self ("ipsation"), because in thiscase the act would indeed be radically opposed to the loving communion betweenpersons of different sex which some hold is what is principally sought in theuse of the sexual faculty.
This opinionis contradictory to the teaching and pastoral practice of the Catholic Church.Whatever the force of certain arguments of a biological and philosophicalnature, which have sometimes been used by theologians, in fact both theMagisterium of the Church - in the course of a constant tradition - and themoral sense of the faithful have declared without hesitation that masturbationis an intrinsically and seriously disordered act.[19] The main reason is that,whatever the motive for acting this way, the deliberate use of the sexualfaculty outside normal conjugal relations essentially contradicts the finalityof the faculty. For it lacks the sexual relationship called for by the moralorder, namely the relationship which realizes "the full sense of mutualself-giving and human procreation in the context of true love."[20] Alldeliberate exercise of sexuality must be reserved to this regular relationship.Even if it cannot be proved that Scripture condemns this sin by name, thetradition of the Church has rightly understood it to be condemned in the NewTestament when the latter speaks of "impurity,""unchasteness" and other vices contrary to chastity and continence.
Sociologicalsurveys are able to show the frequency of this disorder according to theplaces, populations or circumstances studied. In this way facts are discovered,but facts do not constitute a criterion for judging the moral value of humanacts.[21] The frequency of the phenomenon in question is certainly to be linkedwith man's innate weakness following original sin; but it is also to be linkedwith the loss of a sense of God, with the corruption of morals engendered bythe commercialization of vice, with the unrestrained licentiousness of so manypublic entertainments and publications, as well as with the neglect of modesty,which is the guardian of chastity.
On the subjectof masturbation modern psychology provides much valid and useful informationfor formulating a more equitable judgment on moral responsibility and fororienting pastoral action. Psychology helps one to see how the immaturity ofadolescence (which can sometimes persist after that age), psychologicalimbalance or habit can influence behavior, diminishing the deliberate characterof the act and bringing about a situation whereby subjectively there may notalways be serious fault. But in general, the absence of serious responsibilitymust not be presumed; this would be to misunderstand people's moral capacity.
In thepastoral ministry, in order to form an adequate judgment in concrete cases, thehabitual behavior of people will be considered in its totality, not only withregard to the individual's practice of charity and of justice but also withregard to the individual's care in observing the particular precepts ofchastity. In particular, one will have to examine whether the individual isusing the necessary means, both natural and supernatural, which Christianasceticism from its long experience recommends for overcoming the passions andprogressing in virtue.
X
On the "Fundamental Option"
The observanceof the moral law in the field of sexuality and the practice of chastity havebeen considerably endangered, especially among less fervent Christians, by thecurrent tendency to minimize as far as possible, when not denying outright, thereality of grave sin, at least in people's actual lives.
There arethose who go as far as to affirm that mortal sin, which causes separation fromGod, only exists in the formal refusal directly opposed to God's call, or inthat selfishness which completely and deliberately closes itself to the love ofneighbor. They say that it is only then that there comes into play thefundamental option, that is to say the decision which totally commits theperson and which is necessary if mortal sin is to exist; by this option theperson, from the depths of the personality, takes up or ratifies a fundamentalattitude towards God or people. On the contrary, so-called"peripheral" actions (which, it is said, usually do not involvedecisive choice), do not go so far as to change the fundamental option, theless so since they often come, as is observed, from habit. Thus such actionscan weaken the fundamental option, but not to such a degree as to change itcompletely. Now according to these authors, a change of the fundamental optiontowards God less easily comes about in the field of sexual activity, where aperson generally does not transgress the moral order in a fully deliberate andresponsible manner but rather under the influence of passion, weakness,immaturity, sometimes even through the illusion of thus showing love forsomeone else. To these causes there is often added the pressure of the socialenvironment.
In reality, itis precisely the fundamental option which in the last resort defines a person'smoral disposition. But it can be completely changed by particular acts,especially when, as often happens, these have been prepared for by previousmore superficial acts. Whatever the case, it is wrong to say that particularacts are not enough to constitute mortal sin.
According tothe Church's teaching, mortal sin, which is opposed to God, does not consistonly in formal and direct resistance to the commandment of charity. It isequally to be found in this opposition to authentic love which is included inevery deliberate transgression, in serious matter, of each of the moral laws.
Christ Himselfhas indicated the double commandment of love as the basis of the moral life.But on this commandment depends "the whole Law, and the Prophetsalso."[22] It therefore includes the other particular precepts. In fact,to the young man who asked, ". . . what good deed must I do to possesseternal 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 yourself."[23]
A persontherefore sins mortally not only when his action comes from direct contempt forlove of God and neighbor, but also when he consciously and freely, for whateverreason, chooses something which is seriously disordered. For in this choice, ashas been said above, there is already included contempt for the Divinecommandment: the person turns himself away from God and loses charity. Nowaccording to Christian tradition and the Church's teaching, and as right reasonalso recognizes, the moral order of sexuality involves such high values ofhuman life that every direct violation of this order is objectivelyserious.[24]
It is truethat in sins of the sexual order, in view of their kind and their causes, itmore easily happens that free consent is not fully given; this is a fact whichcalls for caution in all judgment as to the subject's responsibility. In thismatter it is particularly opportune to recall the following words of Scripture:"Man looks at appearances but God looks at the heart."[25] However,although prudence is recommended in judging the subjective seriousness of aparticular sinful act, it in no way follows that one can hold the view that inthe sexual field mortal sins are not committed.
Pastors ofsouls must therefore exercise patience and goodness; but they are not allowedto render God's commandments null, nor to reduce unreasonably people'sresponsibility. "To diminish in no way the saving teaching of Christconstitutes an eminent form of charity for souls. But this must ever beaccompanied by patience and goodness, such as the Lord Himself gave example ofin dealing with people. Having come not to condemn but to save, He was indeedintransigent with evil, but merciful towards individuals."[26]
XI
On Chastity
As has beensaid above, the purpose of this Declaration is to draw the attention of thefaithful in present-day circumstances to certain errors and modes of behaviorwhich they must guard against. The virtue of chastity, however, is in no wayconfined solely to avoiding the faults already listed. It is aimed at attaininghigher and more positive goals. It is a virtue which concerns the wholepersonality, as regards both interior and outward behavior.
Individualsshould be endowed with this virtue according to their state in life: for someit will mean virginity or celibacy consecrated to God, which is an eminent wayof giving oneself more easily to God alone with an undivided heart.[27] Forothers it will take the form determined by the moral law, according to whetherthey are married or single. But whatever the state of life, chastity is notsimply an external state; it must make a person's heart pure in accordance withChrist's words: "You have learned how it was said: You must not commitadultery. But I say this to you: if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he hasalready committed adultery with her in his heart."[28]
Chastity isincluded in that continence which St. Paul numbers among the gifts of the HolySpirit, while he condemns sensuality as a vice particularly unworthy of theChristian and one which precludes entry into the Kingdom of Heaven.[29]"What God wants is for all to be holy. He wants you to keep away from fornication,and each one of you know how to use the body that belongs to him in a way thatis holy and honorable, not giving way to selfish lust like the pagans who donot know God. He wants nobody at all ever to sin by taking advantage of abrother in these matters. . . . We have been called by God to be holy, not tobe immoral. In other words, anyone who objects is not objecting to a humanauthority, but to God, Who gives you His Holy Spirit."[30] "Among youthere must not be even a mention of fornication or impurity in any of itsforms, or promiscuity: this would hardly become the saints! For you can bequite certain that nobody who actually indulges in fornication or impurity orpromiscuity - which is worshipping a false god - can inherit anything of theKingdom of God. Do not let anyone deceive you with empty arguments: it is forthis loose living that God's anger comes down on those who rebel against Him.Make sure that you are not included with them. You were darkness once, but nowyou are light in the Lord; be like children of light, for the effects of thelight are seen in complete goodness and right living and truth."[31]
In addition,the Apostle points out the specifically Christian motive for practisingchastity when he condemns the sin of fornication not only in the measure thatthis action is injurious to one's neighbor or to the social order but becausethe fornicator offends against Christ Who has redeemed him with His blood andof 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 ofChrist. . . . All the other sins are committed outside the body; but tofornicate is to sin against your own body. Your body, you know, is the templeof the Holy Spirit, Who is in you since you received Him from God. You are notyour own property; you have been bought and paid for. That is why you shoulduse your body for the glory of God."[32]
The more thefaithful appreciate the value of chastity and its necessary role in their livesas men and women, the better they will understand, by a kind of spiritualinstinct, its moral requirements and counsels. In the same way they will knowbetter how to accept and carry out, in a spirit of docility to the Church'steaching, what an upright conscience dictates in concrete cases.
XII
Liberation through Grace
The ApostleSt. Paul describes in vivid terms the painful interior conflict of the personenslaved to sin: the conflict between "the law of his mind" and the"law of sin which dwells in his members" and which holds himcaptive.[33] But man can achieve liberation from his "body doomed todeath" through the grace of Jesus Christ.[34] This grace is enjoyed bythose who have been justified by it and whom "the law of the spirit oflife in Christ Jesus has set free from the law of sin and death."[35] Itis for this reason that the Apostle adjures them: "That is why you mustnot let sin reign in your mortal bodies or command your obedience to bodilypassions."[36]
Thisliberation, which fits one to serve God in newness of life, does not howeversuppress the concupiscence deriving from original sin, nor the promptings toevil in this world, which is "in the power of the evil one."[37] Thisis why the Apostle exhorts the faithful to overcome temptations by the power ofGod[38] and to "stand against the wiles of the Devil"[39] by faith,watchful prayer[40] and an austerity of life that brings the body into subjectionto the Spirit.[41]
Living theChristian life by following in the footsteps of Christ requires that everyoneshould "deny himself and take up his cross daily,"[42] sustained bythe hope of reward, for "if we have died with Him, we shall also reignwith Him."[43] In accordance with these pressing exhortations, thefaithful of the present time, and indeed today more than ever, must use themeans which have always been recommended by the Church for living a chastelife. These means are: discipline of the senses and the mind, watchfulness andprudence in avoiding occasions of sin, the observance of modesty, moderation inrecreation, wholesome pursuits, assiduous prayer and frequent reception of theSacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. Young people especially should earnestlyfoster devotion to the Immaculate Mother of God, and take as examples the livesof saints and other faithful people, especially young ones, who excelled in thepractice of chastity.
It isimportant in particular that everyone should have a high esteem for the virtueof chastity, its beauty and its power of attraction. This virtue increases thehuman person's dignity and enables him to love truly, disinterestedly,unselfishly and with respect for others.
XIII
Our Role
It is up tothe Bishops to instruct the faithful in the moral teaching concerning sexualmorality, however great may be the difficulties in carrying out this work inthe face of ideas and practices generally prevailing today. This traditionaldoctrine must be studied more deeply. It must be handed on in a way capable ofproperly enlightening the consciences of those confronted with new situationsand it must be enriched with a discernment of all the elements that cantruthfully and usefully be brought forward about the meaning and value of humansexuality. But the principles and norms of moral living reaffirmed in thisDeclaration must be faithfully held and taught. It will especially be necessaryto bring the faithful to understand that the Church holds these principles notas old and inviolable superstitions, nor out of some Manichaean prejudice, asis often alleged, but rather because she knows with certainty that they are incomplete harmony with the Divine order of creation and with the spirit ofChrist, and therefore also with human dignity.
It is likewisethe Bishops' mission to see that a sound doctrine enlightened by faith anddirected by the Magisterium of the Church is taught in faculties of theologyand in seminaries. Bishops must also ensure that confessors enlighten people'sconsciences and that catechetical instruction is given in perfect fidelity toCatholic doctrine.
It rests withthe Bishops, the priests and their collaborators to alert the faithful againstthe erroneous opinions often expressed in books, reviews and public meetings.
Parents, inthe first place, and also teachers of the young must endeavor to lead theirchildren and their pupils, by way of a complete education, to thepsychological, emotional and moral maturity befitting their age. They willtherefore prudently give them information suited to their age; and they willassiduously form their wills in accordance with Christian morals, not only byadvice 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 themany dangers of which they are quite unaware.
Artists,writers and all those who use the means of social communication should exercisetheir profession in accordance with their Christian faith and with a clearawareness of the enormous influence which they can have. They should rememberthat "the primacy of the objective moral order must be regarded asabsolute by all,"[44] and that it is wrong for them to give priority aboveit to any so-called aesthetic purpose, or to material advantage or to success.Whether it be a question of artistic or literary works, public entertainment orproviding information, each individual in his or her own domain must show tact,discretion, moderation and a true sense of values. In this way, far from addingto the growing permissiveness of behavior, each individual will contributetowards controlling it and even towards making the moral climate of societymore wholesome.
All laypeople, for their part, by virtue of their rights and duties in the work of theapostolate, should endeavor to act in the same way.
Finally, it isnecessary to remind everyone of the words of the Second Vatican Council:"This Holy Synod likewise affirms that children and young people have aright to be encouraged to weigh moral values with an upright conscience, and toembrace them by personal choice, to know and love more adequately. Hence, itearnestly entreats all who exercise government over people or preside over thework of education to see that youth is never deprived of this sacredright."[45]
At theaudience granted on November 7, 1975, to the undersigned Prefect of the SacredCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Sovereign Pontiff by DivineProvidence Pope Paul VI approved this Declaration "On certain questionsconcerning sexual ethics," confirmed it and ordered its publication.
Given in Rome,at the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on December 29th,1975.
Franjo Cardinal Seper
Prefect
Most Rev. Jerome Hamer, O.P.
TitularArchbishop of Lorium
Secretary
ENDNOTES
1. Cf. SecondVatican Ecumenical Council, Constitution on the Church in the Modern World"Gaudium et Spes," 47 AAS 58
(1966), p.1067.
2. Cf.Apostolic Constitution "Regimini Ecclesiae Universae," 29 (Aug 15th,1967) AAS 89 (1967), p. 1067.
3."Gaudium et Spes," 16 AAS 58 (1966), p. 1037.
4. Jn 8:12.
5. SecondVatican Ecumenical Council, Declaration "Dignitatis Humanae," 3 AAS58 (1966), p. 931.
6. I Tim 3:15
7."Dignitatis Humanae," 14 AAS 58 (1966), p. 940; cf Pius XI, encyclicalletter "Casti Connubii," Dec 31st, 1930 AAS 22
(1930), pp579-580; Pius XII, allocution of Nov. 2nd, 1954 AAS 46 (1954), pp 671-672; JohnXXIII, encyclical letter "Mater et
Magistra," May 15th, 1961 AAS 53 (1961), p. 457; Paul VI,encyclical letter "Humanae Vitae," 4, July 25th, 1968 AAS 60
(1968) p. 483.
8. Cf. SecondVatican 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), pp. 1072.
10. Ibid; cfalso 49 loc cit, pp. 1069-1070.
11. Ibid, 49,50 loc cit, pp. 1069-1072.
12. Thepresent Declaration does not go into further detail regarding the norms of sexuallife within marriage; these norms have
been clearlytaught in the encyclical letter "Casti Connubii" and "HumanaeVitae."
13. Cf. Mt19:4-6.
14. I Cor 7:9.
15. Cf. Eph5:25-32.
16. Sexualintercourse outside marriage is formally condemned I Cor 5:1; 6:9; 7:2; 10:8Eph. 5:5; I Tim 1:10; Heb 13:4; and
with explicitreasons I Cor 6:12-20.
17. Cf.Innocent IV, letter "Sub catholica professione," March 6th, 1254, DS835; Pius II, "Propos damn in Ep Cum sicut
accepimus." Nov 13th, 1459, DS 1367; decrees of the Holy Office,Sept 24th, 1665, DS 2045; March 2nd, 1679, DS 2148 Pius
XI, encyclicalletter "Casti Connubii," Dec 31st, 1930 AAS 22 (1930), pp. 558 559.
18. Rom1:24-27 "That is why God left them to their filthy enjoyments and thepractices with which they dishonor their own
bodies sincethey have given up Divine truth for a lie and have worshipped and servedcreatures instead of the Creator, Who is
blessedforever. Amen! That is why God has abandoned them to degrading passions; whytheir women have turned from natural
intercourse tounnatural practices and why their menfolk have given up natural intercourse tobe consumed with passion for each
other, mendoing shameless things with men and getting an appropriate reward for theirperversion" See also what St. Paul says
of"masculorum concubitores" in I Cor 6:10; I Tim 1:10.
19. Cf. LeoIX, letter "Ad splendidum nitentis," in the year 1054 DS 687-688,decree of the Holy Office, March 2nd, 1679: DS
2149; PiusXII, "Allocutio," Oct 8th, 1953 AAS 45 (1953), pp. 677-678; May 19th,1956 AAS 48 (1956), pp. 472-473.
20."Gaudium et Spes," 51 AAS 58 (1966), p. 1072.
21. ". .. it sociological surveys are useful for better discovering the thoughtpatterns of the people of a particular place, the
anxieties andneeds of those to whom we proclaim the word of God, and also the oppositionmade to it by modern reasoning
through thewidespread notion that outside science there exists no legitimate form ofknowledge, still the conclusions drawn from
such surveyscould not of themselves constitute a determining criterion of truth," PaulVI, apostolic exhortation "Quinque iam
anni."Dec 8th 1970, AAS 63 (1971), p. 102.
22. Mt 22:38,40.
23. Mt19:16-19.
24. Cf. note17 and 19 above Decree of the Holy Office, March 18th, 1666, DS 2060; Paul VI,encyclical letter "Humanae
Vitae,"13, 14 AAS 60 (1968), pp. 489-496.
25. Sam 16:7.
26. Paul VI,encyclical letter "Humanae Vitae," 29 AAS 60 (1968), p. 501.
27. Cf. I Cor7:7, 34; Council of Trent, Session XXIV, can 10 DS 1810; Second VaticanCouncil, Constitution "Lumen
Gentium,"42 43, 44 AAS 57 (1965), pp. 47-51 Synod of Bishops, "De SacerdotioMinisteriali," part II, 4, b: AAS 63 (1971),
pp. 915-916.
28. Mt 5:28.
29. Cf. Gal5:19-23; I Cor 6:9-11.
30. I Thess4:3-8; cf. Col 3:5-7; I Tim 1:10.
31. Eph 5:3-8;cf. 4:18-19.
32. I Cor6:15, 18-20.
33. Cf. Rom7:23.
34. Cf. Rom7:24-25.
35. Cf. Rom8:2.
36. Rom 6:12.
37. I Jn 5:19.
38. Cf. I Cor10:13.
39. Eph 6:11.
40. Ct Eph6:16, 18.
41. Ct I Cor9:27.
42. Lk 9:23.
43. II Tim2:11-12.
44. SecondVatican Ecumenical Council decree "Inter Mirifica," 6 AAS 56 (1964),p. 147.
45."Gravissimum Educationis," 1: AAS 58 (1966), p. 730.