The Church’s Constant Teaching on Marriage/Family/Human Sexuality v. Smoke and Mirrors

The 1960s jump-started massive changes in human attitudes and behavior, including increased acceptance of

· contraceptives and contraceptive sexual relations,
· homosexual and non-marital sexual relations,
· sodomy.

Many now act as though these were great advances, despite astronomical increases in

· abortion,
· marital/family breakdown and divorce,
· sexually transmitted diseases.

Many others have been coerced into acting as though morally repugnant activities like abortion are not only acceptable but worthy of public financing!

In the late 1970s, a gentleman in Vatican City knew that society must be called back to God’s magnificent plan for marriage and family – He knew that humanity must be reminded that God’s great gift of human sexuality was for letting us participate in His very work of creation!

God’s Magnificent Plan for Marriage/Family/Human Sexuality

In the aftermath of the 1960s’ so-called Sexual Revolution, the late gentleman/Holy Father used weekly audiences to reiterate the Church’s beautiful and timeless teaching on marriage/ family/ human sexuality (See St. Pope John Paul II's "Theology of the Body" on marriage/family/human sexuality, Catholic365, 9/6/23). He did the same via many homilies/speeches/talks/writings, including his apostolic exhortation Familiaris Consortio (1981).

In the past century and a half, three other popes used encyclicals to also reiterate this timeless, beautiful truth about marriage/family/human sexuality:

· Pope Leo XIII's Arcanum (1880),
· Pope Pius XI's Casti Connubii (1930), and
· Pope Paul VI's Humanae Vitae (1968).

The Vatican’s

· Documents of Vatican II (1962 – 1965),
· Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992),
· Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality (1995), and
· Compendium of the Catechism (2005)

also proclaimed the beauty of marriage/ family/ human sexuality.

Expedited Annulments, Amoris Laetitia, and Fiducia Supplicans

Annulments

In response to concerns raised by Phil Lawler (cf, Catholic Culture, 2/1/21), I also wrote of concerns about Pope Francis and declarations of marital nullity (cf; Catholic Stand, 10/7/21). Like Lawler, I looked at the last three popes’ annual addresses to the Roman Rota (which seems akin to the Vatican’s “Supreme Court” on marriage case):

· Saint Pope John Paul II:
1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005

· Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI:
2006 – 2013
· Pope Francis:
2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025.

I believe there was a growing dis-ease on the parts of St. JP II and Benedict XVI about the possibility of inaccurate declarations of nullity. At least since the 1960s, some in the Church seem to have adopted the gross error that marriage is not indissoluble. Are spouses and children who wish to preserve authentic marriages victimized by a wronghead “pastoral” approach that fails to defend truth? (cf, The Hidden Martyrs for Marriage).

Unlike his immediate predecessors, Pope Francis largely focused on expediting processes exploring the validity of marriage. In one address, I found Pope Francis to be quite disrespectful of some who disagree with him:

“In Spain they say: ‘Por la plata baila el mono’: the monkey dances for money. The saying is clear. And sadly, this too: in some dioceses, I have encountered resistance from some judicial vicars who, perhaps, lost some power with this reform, because he realized that the judge was not he, but the bishop” (Pope Francis, 1/29/2021).

Amoris Laetitia

When I was a teenager and young adult in the 1970s and 1980s, I recall being confused by certain statements from religious leaders. When I sought clarification, I felt as though I was treated with thinly veiled condescension.

The apostolic letter Amoris Laetitia has long confused people and seems unworthy of the attention it has received:

“Following Scripture, the Catholic Church teaches marital indissolubility, the reservation of sexual relations to married couples, and the inseparability of the unitive and procreative dimensions of the marital act….As per George Weigel, ‘no pope can change the settled teaching of the Church’ (First Things, 3/30/16)” (Amazon review, 4/23/16)

Nine years after its introduction, theologians are still asking if the apostolic letter Amoris Laetitia contradicts doctrine. If it does, we certainly don’t want to throw gasoline on the fire! As per my own comment,

“As no pope has the power to change unchangeable teaching, the heterodox interpretation should have been immediately dismissed. God help us that it is still even being discussed!” (cf, Catholic World Report, 03/19/25)

Fiducia Supplicans

Before he was made a cardinal and before he was appointed head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Victor Manuel “Tucho” Fernandez authored two books with eyebrow-raising titles:

· Heal Me with Your Mouth: The Art of Kissing (1995)

“he certainly does NOT seem to limit his discussion of kissing to a man and woman united in marriage, which MUST be exclusive and lifelong with each marital act open to life” (The Song of Songs, the Theology of the Body, & Heal Me with Your Mouth, Catholic365, 7/21/23).

· Mystical Passion: Spirituality and Sensuality (1998)

(Even though the world’s second largest theological library (at the Princeton Theological Seminary) is just 14 miles from my home, I have thus far been unable to get any copy of Mystical Passion.)

Cardinal Fernandez’s Fiducia Supplicans claims that blessing those in “irregular” situations (e.g.., divorced and civilly “remarried” people; homosexual pairings) does not undermine the truth about marriage/family/human sexuality. While some priests and religious leaders are fond of repeating this, they ignore Jesus’ last words to the woman caught in adultery: “go and sin no more” (cf, John 8: 11).

Conclusion

At least for the past half century, the Catholic Church has had a monumental “vocation” crisis that dwarfs issues surrounding reduced numbers of people seeking ordination and/or religious life. While the eroding of marriage/family should be obvious to all, is it smoke and mirrors that have instead drawn our attention to other issues?