**7. Congregation for the doctrine of the faith**

During Paul VI's tenure, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), in its succinct "Declaration on Sexual Ethics," charted new territory in understanding the fundamental topic of sexuality itself, even as it resisted any changes in the norms for specific sexual behaviors that might flow from that understanding. Following developments in psychology, the Vatican asserts that sexuality "so profoundly" affects the human person that it is one of "the principal traits that distinguish" an individual's life [1975: 1] [11]. Where the tradition had primarily focused sexuality on prolonging the human race, here sexuality is considered to be central to a person's identity.

This acknowledgment brought new challenges because many people were engaging in expressing their sexual identity in ways that the Church disapproved. Hence, the CDF decried "erroneous opinions" and a "growing permissiveness" that contradicted the traditional norms. In spite of evidence of widespread uncertainty and disagreement throughout much of the West, the Church declared that it "knows with certainty" that its own norms "are in complete harmony with the

Divine order of creation and with the spirit of Christ, and therefore also with human dignity" [1975: 13].

The CDF was quite explicit: its goal is "to repeat the Church's doctrine" [1975: 6]. To understand the CDF's response, it is helpful to recall what Haidt says about the human tendencies of both sides of an issue. "In moral matters, we. .. deploy our reasoning skills to support our team, and to demonstrate commitment to our team." Haidt adds: "Conscious reasoning functions like a press secretary who automatically justifies any position taken by the president." Haidt notes that all humans practice "confirmation bias," which is "the tendency to seek out and interpret new evidence in ways that confirm what you already think." At the same time, reason works hard to dismiss contrary evidence. In short, Haidt observes, "Moral matrices bind people together and blind them to the coherence, or even existence, of other matrices."28

Thus, on the topic of masturbation, the CDF dismissively writes that "facts do not constitute a criterion for judging the moral value of human acts"[1975: 9]. It adds, "Whatever the force of certain arguments of a biological and philosophical nature,. .. both the Magisterium. .. and the moral sense of the faithful have declared without hesitation" that it is "an intrinsically and seriously disordered act" [1975: 9]. In other words, contrary evidence does not affect the Church's position. Taking loyalty for granted, the CDF presumes that the faithful's attitude is in agreement, so no further evidence of that support is needed. Put another way, if any of the faithful were to hesitate or disagree, then they are not among the "faithful." Finally, the CDF, after admitting that no text of scripture condemns masturbation, asserts that "the tradition of the Church has rightly understood it to be condemned in the New Testament." Even if it is not there, it is there.

The CDF acknowledged that many psychologists were arguing that masturbation "is a normal phenomenon of sexual development, especially among the young" [1975: 9]. This appeal to development presented a new kind of challenge, namely, an activity might be appropriate at an early stage of life, even if it is not appropriate for adults. For example, some taught that it was a matter of indifference that young children fondle their own genitals. But in Church teaching this would objectively be one of the worst sexual sins possible (although subjectively innocent). That is, these act would be objectively evil since in children there is neither any possibility of procreation nor any sense of unity with another person. The response of the CDF was not to undertake the task of inserting a developmental understanding of sexuality. Rather, the CDF shifted the argument. It notes that many people who masturbate do not have the freedom to be fully responsible for sexually sinning [1975: 9–10]. This approach preserves the norm that the child's act is objectively a grave matter, but it offers the relief that in children there is no personal guilt.

Not surprisingly, the CDF also rejected premarital sex. It upholds the traditional standard, saying, "every genital act must be within the framework of marriage" [1975: 7]. It explains that nonmarried persons "cannot ensure, in sincerity and fidelity, the interpersonal relationship between a man and a woman" [1975: 7]. It is noteworthy that the Congregation appeals to personalist values. Unfortunately, this approach overlooks that marriage itself cannot guarantee interpersonal stability, as divorce statistics indicate. Only a contract theory, claimed to be from God and both unalterable and unbreakable, keeps marriage technically stable even when in all other ways the interpersonal relationship has died.

The CDF next took up the topic of homosexuality, which had scarcely been present in earlier twentieth century Church teaching but was now being positively assessed in the psychological sciences. Social acceptance of homosexuality was gradually increasing since sexuality was now considered part of one's very identity.

**353**

**Author details**

Edward Collins Vacek S.J.

Loyola University New Orleans, Louisiana, United States of America

© 2020 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

\*Address all correspondence to: evacek@loyno.edu

provided the original work is properly cited.

*Evolution of Catholic Marriage Morality in the Twentieth Century from a Baby-Making...*

sexuals are incurable, they ought not act with their limitations.

serious sins [1975: 10]. The plausibility of Church teaching grew thinner.

The CDF, at this point in history, generally understood homosexuality as a pathology due to some incurable instinct or condition. It insists that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered and can in no case be approved" [1975: 8]. Even if homo-

Finally, the CDF had to deal with a new challenge raised by theologians who said that many people who engage in prohibited sexual actions may be acting wrongly, but they may not be drastically separated from God. It seemed highly implausible to these critics that, say, an adolescent boy who on one occasion freely enjoyed sexual fantasies was fit for damnation. To this, the CDF repeated the seventeenth century declaration that all sexual sins, no matter how slight they may seem, are objectively

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95101*

<sup>28</sup> Haidt, *The Righteous Mind*, 79–80, 91, 110.

#### *Evolution of Catholic Marriage Morality in the Twentieth Century from a Baby-Making... DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95101*

The CDF, at this point in history, generally understood homosexuality as a pathology due to some incurable instinct or condition. It insists that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered and can in no case be approved" [1975: 8]. Even if homosexuals are incurable, they ought not act with their limitations.

Finally, the CDF had to deal with a new challenge raised by theologians who said that many people who engage in prohibited sexual actions may be acting wrongly, but they may not be drastically separated from God. It seemed highly implausible to these critics that, say, an adolescent boy who on one occasion freely enjoyed sexual fantasies was fit for damnation. To this, the CDF repeated the seventeenth century declaration that all sexual sins, no matter how slight they may seem, are objectively serious sins [1975: 10]. The plausibility of Church teaching grew thinner.
