Defending Traditional Marriage

by Father Jim Whalen  from Catholic Life and Family 2006

    The essential ends of mamage are procre­ation, the upbring­ing of children, and mutual love. The primary end is procreation and the upbringing of children and the subordinate secondary end is mutual love. "Marriage and conjugal love are by, their nature ordained toward the begetting and educating of children" (Gaudium et Spes, #50).

God has designed' the sexual act to take place exclusively within a marriage of a man and a woman - The moral principle is clear. Any deliberate use of the sexual faculty outside of marriage is immoral, gravely wrong, because it is contrary to its purpose. It is a mortal sin providing one knows it is wrong and gives full consent and consequently excludes one from sacramental communion (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2352, 2390). Every kind of genital activity outside of marriage, whether committed alone or with someone else, is forbidden. This moral principle, which rules out adultery, fornication, and incest, lack the unitive aspect found in the covenant of marriage. Masturbation and homosexuality lack both the unitive and procreative aspects.

 The health of a society with its social, cultura and economic institutions, as well as its moral fiber depends on the health of its families. Maniage is essentially a public institution and what happens on the level of marriage and family affects the civil com­munity as a whole. The family and society prospers to the degree that the institution of marriage flourish­es and suffers to the degree that the institution of mar­riage flounders. Unfortunately, in recent years, het­erosexual marriage has been increasingly viewed as outdated and somewhat oppressive. In this post-mod­ern era, families, and married couples, receive very little help on the cultural or legal levels.

Moral relativism, which predominates much of our culture, has blurred the distinction between truth and falsehood, right and wrong, good and evil. This has resulted in a loss of the sense of sin and declining standards of public morality and Christian values. This is evident in the rejection of the traditional fam­ily as the foundation of society, and marriage as the condition that gives rise to the family. It has resulted in a homosexual movement, a revolution that seeks to undermine marriage by seeking to usurp its rights and advocates same-sex marriage as a possibility. The fact is that conjugal relationships are only possible between a man and a woman. Homosexual love is impossible because it seeks to transform the love of friendship between people of the same sex into con­jugal love.

 Christian morality must be restored to our cul­ture, our families, and our county. This means a renewal of our Christian foundations based on "Love of God" and "Love of neighbour", the Ten Commandments, and the Beatitudes. It means a return to centering our families on the Eucharist (the Mass) and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament (Perpetual Adoration). It means stressing the impor­tance of "Sacramental Life", and especially, frequent reception of Confession. It means a strong prayer life and praying the Rosary for family life and marriage. It means parents must insist on their primary rights in educating their children. It means using Natural Family Planning when necessary. It means accepting God's law and God's plan for the individual, the fam­ily, and society. We must not be swayed by false com­passion or relativistic rhetoric. We are called to hon­our and obey God's law, and to, defend the sacred institutions of marriage and family. "When· men resolve to co-operate with the grace of God, the mar­vels of history are worked ... nothing can defeat a peo­ple that is virtuous and truly loves God" (Defending a Higher Law, 1FP Committee. American Issues. R Correa de Oliveria, p. 189) .•