Theology of the Body Questions & Answers (Part 3)
There are many misconceptions about what the Catholic Church teaches regarding marriage, sexuality, and responsible parenthood. Theology of the Body offers a deeper vision—one that reveals the dignity of the human person, the meaning of the body, and God’s design for love within marriage. This teaching helps us understand not only what the Church teaches, but why.
Why does the Church teach that contraception is wrong?
A basic moral precept is that we should never alter a healthy, functioning part of the body, because to do so is to “use” the body in a way that God never intended.
Contraception is the alteration of a healthy, functioning part of the body: the cycle of fertility. Whenever the Church says “no,” it is a no to something selfish that does not reflect genuine love. It is a no to an act that closes God out and prevents sex from following God’s design.
To use contraception in sex is to say that I give all of myself to you, except my fertility. In that case it can’t be an act that gives everything and often becomes selfish in desire for pleasure and nothing more. Contraception is also to say to God that His power to create is not welcome, that He is not welcome in this particular embrace. If God is not welcome, then He cannot deepen the union He created and the act that is supposed to strengthen unity begins to break it down.
Why are sex outside of marriage, sterilization and in-vitro fertilization considered violations of God’s plan?
Sex before marriage or outside of marriage lacks the bond that only God can create. What God does in marriage is real and can only happen after the couple has spoken their promises as a sacrament. Sterilization is permanently disabling the cycle of fertility as God designs it.
In-vitro fertilization doesn’t involve the embrace of sexual union at all but rather is a manipulation of the parts for the creation of a child. A child is not a commodity that we can claim a right to but rather a gift by which God shares the power to create as the result of genuine life-giving love.
How is responsible parenthood lived out day to day?
One way in which this unique love between husband and wife is carried out on a day-to-day basis is known as “responsible parenthood.” Responsible parenthood is the virtuous decision by a married couple either to try to conceive a child or to postpone a child according to their circumstances. It is actually one of the most important ways in which married couples live out this love.
What if someone has already made choices the Church teaches against?
What to do if you have already done some of these things? They are sins, but that’s why Christ went to the cross, died, and rose from the dead. So, you have to stand under the cross and be washed by His blood.
And how does that happen? It happens in the Catholic tradition through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Anything can be forgiven because of the infinite suffering of Christ on the cross and His resurrection.
What is the Church’s final message to those who struggle?
Everybody sins; everybody needs forgiveness. So don’t despair if at some time in your life you might have done something that the Church asks you not to do. Forgiveness and reconciliation are possible, and we stand in need before God. The important thing is to understand that these things are violations of human dignity and human love. Therefore we are to ask forgiveness, to pick yourself up, and try again.
Closing
Theology of the Body reveals that God’s design for marriage and sexuality is rooted in love, dignity, and freedom. The Church’s teachings are not arbitrary rules. They are a call to live love as God loves—fully, faithfully, and fruitfully—while always holding out the promise of mercy, healing, and new beginnings.
Take a look at the CCL TOB Information page.
This Q & A article is the 3rd of a 3-part series. Find Part 1 of this series here & Part 2 of this series here.
Excepts taken from CCL NFP Class video with Bishop Erik Pohlmeier. Click here for all of CCL’s NFP class options.