Roman Catholic Marital Sexual Ethics

This book presents the teachings of the Roman Catholic Faith on sexual ethics for married couples. It addresses a fairly narrow topic: not marriage in general, and not ethics in general, but marital sexual ethics. The author, Ronald L. Conte Jr., is the translator of the Catholic Public Domain Version of the Bible, a conservative Catholic translation of the Latin Vulgate. He is also the author of the books: 'The Catechism of Catholic Ethics' and 'Roman Catholic Teaching on Abortion and Contraception'. His other books cover diverse subjects in theology, including Mariology, Biblical chronology, eschatology, and other topics. The good news about sex and marriage offered by this book is that the teachings of the Magisterium on marital sexual ethics are clear and definitive. But in order to follow those teachings, sexuality must be given its proper and limited place in the scale of spiritual and temporal values. Other works on this topic offer enthusiastic praise for sex within marriage, while ignoring the basic principles of ethics; they over-emphasize sex and under-emphasize ethics. They distort the theology of the body taught by Pope John Paul II, and ignore his magisterial teachings on the three fonts of morality. But if you are faithful to Christ, then you know in your heart of hearts that the marital bedroom is not exempt from the moral law. The marital bed is not a morality-free zone. Therefore, this book begins with the basic principles of morality taught by Pope John Paul II in Veritatis Splendor. These principles are the foundation of Catholic moral theology. Then, with a clear understanding of essential ethical principles, we examine specific teachings on sexual morality found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Humanae Vitae, Casti Connubii, Evangelium Vitae, Familiaris Consortio, and many other magisterial documents, and well as in the Bible and in the writings of the Saints. The main topics addressed are: contraception, abortion, artificial procreation (e.g. IVF), and various types of sexual acts within marriage. The book includes a brief discussion of the theological, moral, and intellectual virtues. For in order to avoid committing sexual sin (or any other type of sin), one must cooperate with grace in acts of love, faith, hope, and all the virtues given to us by God. A few other topics are covered briefly, including sexual sins in general, differences in roles of the husband and wife, etc. The final chapter answers 30 common questions on marital sexual ethics.