The Catholic Church on Marital Intercourse traces the development of the Church's theology of marital sexuality from New Testament times to the present day. The early ecclesial leaders promoted a theology of sexuality based on Stoicism's biological perception that sexual activity was solely for the purpose of reproduction. Only in the early twentieth century did a few theologians begin to move beyond discussing "the purposes of marital intercourse" to discussing the meaning that the marital act might have for the spouses themselves. With the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), a new and positive view of marital sexuality emerged recognizing the Pauline view that the couple's marital acts express their love for each other along the lines of Christ's love for his church (Ephesians 5). In sum, The Catholic Church on Marital Intercourse treats the way in which the Catholic Church has moved away from an attitude of conditional acceptance of marital intercourse on the basis of its utility to recognition that the dynamics of sexual union are both good and holy, not only because that is the way children are conceived, but also because the marital act enhances the love of husband and wife for each other.
Robert Obach is an assistant professor in the Classics Curriculum at Antioch University and teaches philosophy at Sinclair College.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 IntroductionChapter 2 Biblical Approaches to Marital SexualityChapter 3 St. Paul's Unwitting Contributions to the Church's Negative Thinking on Marital IntercourseChapter 4 Early Church Leaders Defend Marriage against Gnostic AttacksChapter 5 Augustine: The Man Who Carved in Stone the Church's Conditional Acceptance of Marital IntercourseChapter 6 Monks, Theologians, Bishops, and Popes Disparage Marital IntercourseChapter 7 The Law of Clerical Celibacy Embodies the Bias against Marital IntimacyChapter 8 Canon Law Sees Nothing Spiritual in Marital IntimacyChapter 9 Marriage Recognized as a SacramentChapter 10 St. Thomas Aquinas: Modifications and QualificationsChapter 11 Some Attempts to See Other Values in Marital IntercourseChapter 12 The Council of Trent: Motives for Marrying and Motives for Abstaining from Marital IntercourseChapter 13 A New Development: Spousal "Affection" Related to "Love"Chapter 14 Confessing Sins Related to Sexual ActivityChapter 15 Pope, Bishops, Theologians, and Canon Law Stress Procreation as the Primary Purpose of MarriageChapter 16 A New Vision: Love Related to Marital IntercourseChapter 17 The Teaching of Pope Pius XI: Procreation or AbstinenceChapter 18 A Rejected Perspective: Bodily Union as the Direct Purpose of Marital IntercourseChapter 19 The Break with St. Augustine: Pope Pius XII Accepts the Rhythm MethodChapter 20 The Effects of Papal Teaching: Frustration and TearsChapter 21 The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) Recognizes the Value of Marital LoveChapter 22 The Post-Conciliar Work of the "Birth Control Commission" and Its Culmination in Humanae VitaeChapter 23 Pope John Paul II: Old Assertions and New PerceptionsChapter 24 Conscience and Fidelity to Church TeachingChapter 25 Epilogue
With a readable style and interesting personal references this book corrects a misconception in the church about the role of sex in life. The Church has “always placed the sexual dimension in the context of sin,” and even today if sex is mentioned in a sermon, it usually is about prohibitions. This book helps us understand that it is possible to talk of sex as part of the "good news" of Jesus mission? Obach’s insights on how St. Augustine came to his conclusions on original sin helped make sense of that for me, and why the social/political world situation enabled Augustine’s viewpoint to prevail. Obach illuminates the path of the celibate hierarchy who have formulated a theology of sex that is counterproductive for laity who want to experience the truly “good news” of Jesus. This book will help married couples move on, aided by God's creative spirit.
Trudy Krisher
This book could not have come at a more opportune time. The Catholic Church, rocked by a loss of credibility in her teaching on marital sexuality, is in urgent need of Obach's incisive blend of history, theology, and personal experience. A must-read for anyone interested in helping the Catholic Church meet the social and cultural challenges of modern life.
Gabriel Vahanian
Unquestionably feeling for a sense of intelligent vulgarization, Robert Obach succeeds in surveying Roman Catholic doctrine about sexual life ranging both from procreation without pleasure to pleasure without procreation and from the inception of the church to John Paul II. First of all, in a style available to the average believer, Obach shows how, in spite of common assumptions, Roman Catholic teaching has belonged less to the realm of eternal and unchangeable truths than to the arena of change and development. Secondly, he skillfully focused on what for the believer is the heart and matter of the issue, namely marital union (exemplified through both sex and love) as mirror of the love of Christ for his church. And thirdly, what in a mood of utter reverence he calls the two truths of the church : on the one hand the church as a mother and, on the other, the church as … a woman. Referring to her, indeed, Obach keeps using the feminine pronoun. But what a female teenager hears from her mother as mother is one thing. Quite another could be what she needs to hear from her as a woman. Read Obach and find out!
Dan Thomas
This work is an outstanding combination of history and theological reflection within the Catholic tradition on the Church's teaching on sexuality and marriage. It clarifies the development of that teaching and puts it in its social and intellectual context. Obach begins with Jewish background and ends with Pope John Paul II's theology of the body while thoroughly presenting the time in between. A great book that needs to be read. I highly recommend this work for those who want to deepen their understanding of sexuality and of the Catholic tradition on this subject.
