Catholic Church

===Sexual morality===
{{Anchor|chastity and marriage}}
{{Main|Catholic theology of sexuality|Catholic theology of the body|Marriage in the Catholic Church}}
[[File:Hans Memling - Allegory with a Virgin - WGA14896.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9|[[Allegory]] of chastity by [[Hans Memling]]]]<!--copied from chastity article 22 May 2016-->
The Catholic Church calls all members to practise [[chastity]] according to their state in life. Chastity includes [[Temperance (virtue)|temperance]], [[Discipline|self-mastery]], personal and cultural growth, and [[divine grace]]. It requires refraining from [[lust]], [[masturbation]], [[fornication]], pornography, prostitution and rape. Chastity for those who are not married requires living in [[Sexual abstinence|continence]], abstaining from sexual activity; those who are married are called to conjugal chastity.<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|2332|quote=Sexuality affects all aspects of the human person in the unity of his body and soul. It especially concerns affectivity, the capacity to love and to procreate, and in a more general way the aptitude for forming bonds of communion with others.}}</ref>

In the church's teaching, sexual activity is reserved to married couples, whether in a [[Marriage in the Catholic Church|sacramental marriage]] among Christians or in a [[natural marriage]] where one or both spouses are unbaptized. Even in romantic relationships, particularly [[engagement to marriage]], partners are called to practise continence, in order to test mutual respect and fidelity.<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|2348–2350}}</ref> Chastity in marriage requires in particular conjugal fidelity and protecting the fecundity of marriage. The couple must foster trust and honesty as well as spiritual and physical intimacy. Sexual activity must always be open to the possibility of life;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.diocesehelena.org/offices-and-ministries/pastoral-renewal-services/fertility-awareness/church-teaching-about-contraception/|title=Church teaching about contraception|publisher=[[Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena]]|access-date=19 December 2014|archive-date=19 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219190706/http://www.diocesehelena.org/offices-and-ministries/pastoral-renewal-services/fertility-awareness/church-teaching-about-contraception/|url-status=dead}}</ref> the church calls this the procreative significance. It must likewise always bring a couple together in love; the church calls this the unitive significance.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae_en.html|title=Humanae Vitae|date=25 July 1968|work=vatican.va|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303114045/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae_en.html|archive-date=3 March 2011}}</ref>

[[Contraception]] and certain other [[Catholic teachings on sexual morality#Teachings on specific subjects|sexual practices]] are not permitted, although [[natural family planning]] methods are permitted to provide healthy spacing between births, or to postpone children for a just reason.<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|2364–2372}}</ref> Pope Francis said in 2015 that he is worried that the church has grown "obsessed" with issues such as abortion, [[same-sex marriage]] and [[contraception]], and for prioritizing moral doctrines over helping the poor and marginalized.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2013/09/30/big-heart-open-god-interview-pope-francis|title=A Big Heart Open to God: An interview with Pope Francis|website=[[America (magazine)|America]]|date=30 September 2013|access-date=16 February 2021|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/world/europe/pope-bluntly-faults-churchs-focus-on-gays-and-abortion.html|title=Pope Says Church Is 'Obsessed' With Gays, Abortion and Birth Control|newspaper=The New York Times|date=20 September 2013}}</ref>

==== Homosexuality ====
{{Main|Homosexuality and the Catholic Church}}
The Catholic Church also teaches that "homosexual acts" are "contrary to the natural law", "acts of grave depravity" and "under no circumstances can they be approved", but that persons experiencing homosexual tendencies must be accorded respect and dignity.<ref name="ccc2357-2359">{{Cite CCC|2.1|2357–2359}}</ref> According to the ''[[Catechism of the Catholic Church]]'',

{{blockquote|text=The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided...

Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.<ref name="ccc2357-2359" />}}

This part of the ''Catechism'' was quoted by Pope Francis in a 2013 press interview in which he remarked, when asked about an individual:

{{blockquote|text=I think that when you encounter a person like this [the individual he was asked about], you must make a distinction between the fact of a person being gay from the fact of being a lobby, because lobbies, all are not good. That is bad. If a person is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, well who am I to judge them?<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/full-transcript-of-popes-in-flight-press-remarks-released/|title=Full transcript of Pope's in-flight press remarks released|publisher=Catholic News Agency|date=5 August 2013|access-date=12 October 2013}}</ref>}}

This remark and others made in the same interview were seen as a change in the tone, but not in the substance of the teaching of the church,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/07/29/popes-remarks-on-gays-a-shift-in-tone-not-substance/ |publisher=CNN |title=Pope on gays: A shift in tone, not substance |date=29 July 2013 |access-date=12 October 2013 |archive-date=5 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205092955/https://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/07/29/popes-remarks-on-gays-a-shift-in-tone-not-substance/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> which includes opposition to [[same-sex marriage]].<ref name="1601_05">{{Cite CCC|2.1|1601–1605}}</ref> Certain [[dissent]]ing Catholic groups [[Dissent from Catholic teaching on homosexuality|oppose the position of the Catholic Church]] and seek to change it.<ref>Sources regarding opposition to the church's position on [[Homosexuality and the Catholic Church|homosexuality]]: {{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/pope-denounces-gay-marriage-annual-xmas-message-article-1.1225960|work=NY Daily News|date=22 December 2012|title=Pope Benedict denounces gay marriage during his annual Christmas message|first=Carol|last=Kuruvilla|location=New York}}, {{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/26/us/around-the-nation-catholic-group-provokes-debate-on-homosexuals.html|work=The New York Times|title=Catholic Group Provokes Debate on Homosexuals|date=26 September 1982|access-date=4 May 2010}}, {{cite web|url=http://www.boulderdailycamera.com/livingarts/religion/25pgay.html|title=Abuse scandal leads to church debate on homosexuality|work=Boulder Daily Camera|date=25 May 2002|author=Rachel Zoll|access-date=5 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040105055504/http://www.boulderdailycamera.com/livingarts/religion/25pgay.html|archive-date=5 January 2004}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.starobserver.com.au/news/2008/07/08/wyd-site-limits-gay-debate/533|title=WYD site limits gay debate|work=Star Observer|date=8 July 2008|access-date=5 December 2011}}</ref>

====Divorce and declarations of nullity====
{{Main|Declaration of nullity}}
{{further|Divorce law by country}}
Canon law makes no provision for divorce between baptized individuals, as a valid, consummated sacramental marriage is considered to be a lifelong bond.<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|1640}}</ref> However, a declaration of nullity may be granted when the proof is produced that essential conditions for contracting a valid marriage were absent from the beginning—in other words, that the marriage was not valid due to some impediment. A declaration of nullity, commonly called an annulment, is a judgement on the part of an [[ecclesiastical tribunal]] determining that a marriage was invalidly attempted.<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|1625–1632}}</ref> In addition, marriages among unbaptized individuals may be dissolved with papal permission under certain situations, such as a desire to marry a Catholic, under [[Pauline privilege|Pauline]] or [[Petrine privilege]].<ref name="Gantley">Rev. Mark J. Gantley. [http://www.ewtn.com/vexperts/showmessage.asp?number=410268 "Petrine or Pauline Privilege"]. EWTN Global Catholic Network. 3 September 2004. Accessed 15 November 2014.</ref><ref name="Doors">"[http://www.catholicdoors.com/misc/marriage/canonlaw.htm Canon 1141–1143]". 1983 Code of Canon Law. Catholicdoors.com.</ref> An attempt at remarriage following divorce without a declaration of nullity places "the remarried spouse ... in a situation of public and permanent adultery". An innocent spouse who lives in continence following divorce, or couples who live in continence following a civil divorce for a grave cause, do not sin.<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|2384–2386}}</ref>

<!--from [[Annulment (Catholic Church)]] 30 December 2014 -->
Worldwide, diocesan tribunals completed over 49000 cases for nullity of marriage in 2006. Over the past 30 years about 55 to 70% of annulments have occurred in the United States. The growth in annulments has been substantial; in the United States, 27,000 marriages were annulled in 2006, compared to 338 in 1968.<!--end--> However, approximately 200,000 married Catholics in the United States divorce each year; 10&nbsp;million total {{As of|2006|lc=y}}.<ref name="Soule">{{cite web |last=Soule |first=W. Becket |title=Preserving the Sanctity of Marriage |url=http://www.kofc.org/un/en/resources/cis/cis301.pdf |work=2009 |publisher=Knights of Columbus |access-date=6 January 2014}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|With regard to divorce in the United States, according to the Barna Group, among all who have been married, 33% have been divorced at least once; among American Catholics, 28% (the study did not track religious annulments).<ref>{{cite web |title=New Marriage and Divorce Statistics Released |date=2008 |url=https://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/15-familykids/42-new-marriage-and-divorce-statistics-released |publisher=Barna Group |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219120231/http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/15-familykids/42-new-marriage-and-divorce-statistics-released |archive-date=19 December 2014}}</ref>|}} Divorce is increasing in some predominantly Catholic countries in Europe.<ref>{{cite web |title=Divorces rising in Catholic Europe |url=http://religiousconsultation.org/News_Tracker/divorces_rising_in_Catholic_Europe.htm |work=Los Angeles Times |date=24 May 2006}}</ref> In some predominantly Catholic countries, it is only in recent years that divorce was introduced (Italy (1970), [[Portugal]] (1975), Brazil (1977), Spain (1981), Ireland (1996), Chile (2004) and [[Malta]] (2011)), while the [[Philippines]] and the Vatican City have no procedure for divorce (The [[Philippines]] does, however, allow divorce for Muslims.).

===={{anchor|Sex and contraception|contraception}}Contraception====
{{Main|Christian views on birth control#Catholicism}}
{{see also|Catholic Church and HIV/AIDS|Religious response to assisted reproductive technology#Catholicism}}
[[File:Paulaudenece1977.jpg|upright=0.8|thumb|[[Pope Paul VI]] issued ''[[Humanae vitae]]'' on 25 July 1968.]]<!--copied from [[Humanae vitae]] on 22 May 2016-->
The church teaches that [[Human reproduction#Copulation|sexual intercourse]] should only take place between a man and woman who are married to each other, and should be without the use of [[birth control]] or [[contraception]]. In his encyclical ''[[Humanae vitae]]''<ref name="humanae">{{cite web|last=Paul VI|first=Pope|title=Humanae vitae|publisher=Vatican|year=1968|url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae_en.html|access-date=2 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303114045/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae_en.html|archive-date=3 March 2011}}</ref> (1968), [[Pope Paul VI]] firmly rejected all contraception, thus contradicting dissenters in the church that saw the [[birth control pill]] as an ethically justifiable method of [[Birth control|contraception]], though he permitted the regulation of births by means of natural family planning. This teaching was continued especially by [[John Paul II]] in his encyclical ''[[Evangelium Vitae]]'', where he clarified the church's position on contraception, [[Catholic Church and abortion|abortion]] and [[euthanasia]] by condemning them as part of a "culture of death" and calling instead for a "[[culture of life]]".{{sfn|Bokenkotter|2004|pp=27, 154, 493–494}}

Many Western Catholics have voiced significant disagreement with the church's teaching on contraception.<ref>A summary and restatement of the debate is available in Roderick Hindery. "The Evolution of Freedom as Catholicity in Catholic Ethics." ''Anxiety, Guilt, and Freedom''. Eds. Benjamin Hubbard and Brad Starr, UPA, 1990.</ref> Overturning the church's teaching on this point features high on progressive agendas.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Front Page |url=https://ten-commandments.org/ |access-date=8 November 2022 |website=Ten Commandments for Church Reform |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Catholics for Choice]], a political lobbyist group that is not associated with the Catholic Church, stated in 1998 that 96% of U.S. Catholic women had used contraceptives at some point in their lives and that 72% of Catholics believed that one could be a good Catholic without obeying the church's teaching on birth control.<ref name="cath_choice">{{cite web|url=http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/topics/prevention/documents/1998amatterofconsciece.pdf|title=A Matter of Conscience: Catholics on Contraception|access-date=1 October 2006|author=Catholics for a Choice|year=1998|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061011221417/http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/topics/prevention/documents/1998amatterofconsciece.pdf|archive-date=11 October 2006}}</ref> Use of natural family planning methods among United States Catholics purportedly is low, although the number cannot be known with certainty.{{refn|group=note|Regarding use of [[natural family planning]], in 2002, 24% of the U.S. population identified as Catholic,<ref name="adherents">[https://web.archive.org/web/19990508224844/http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html Largest Religious Groups in the USA]. Accessed 13 November 2005.</ref> but according to a 2002 study by the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]], of sexually active Americans avoiding pregnancy, only 1.5% were using NFP.<ref name="cdc">{{cite journal|last=Chandra|first=A.|author2=Martinez G.M.|author3=Mosher W.D.|author4=Abma J.C.|author5=Jones J.|title=Fertility, Family Planning, and Reproductive Health of U.S. Women: Data From the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth|publisher=National Center for Health Statistics|journal=Vital and Health Statistics|volume=23|issue=25|year=2005|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_025.pdf|access-date=20 May 2007}} See Table 56.</ref>|}} As Catholic health providers are among the largest providers of services to patients with [[HIV/AIDS]] worldwide, there is significant controversy within and outside the church regarding the use of condoms as a means of limiting new infections, as [[condom]] use ordinarily constitutes prohibited contraceptive use.<ref name="CNS.AIDS">{{cite news|title=Pope speaks out on condoms|work=The Catholic Leader|agency=CNS|url=http://catholicleader.com.au/news/pope-speaks-out-on-condoms_45117|date=29 March 2009|access-date=27 March 2017|quote=Pope Benedict XVI's declaration that distribution of condoms only increases the problem of AIDS is the latest and one of the strongest statements in a simmering debate inside the church... he was asked whether the church's approach to AIDS prevention—which focuses primarily on sexual responsibility and rejects condom campaigns—was unrealistic and ineffective... The pope did not get into the specific question of whether in certain circumstances condom use was morally licit or illicit in AIDS prevention, an issue that is still under study by Vatican theologians.}}</ref>

Similarly, the Catholic Church opposes [[artificial insemination]] regardless of whether it is homologous (from the husband) or heterologous (from a [[Sperm donation|donor]]) and [[in vitro fertilization]] (IVF), saying that the artificial process replaces the love and conjugal act between a husband and wife.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Medical News Today|url=http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/38686.php|title=Pope Benedict XVI Declares Embryos Developed For In Vitro Fertilisation Have Right To Life|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081229164506/http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/38686.php|archive-date=29 December 2008}}</ref> In addition, it opposes IVF because it might cause disposal of embryos; Catholics believe an embryo is an individual with a [[soul]] who must be treated as such.<ref>Allen, John L., ''The Future Church: How Ten Trends are Revolutionising the Catholic Church'', p. 223.</ref> For this reason, the church also opposes abortion.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/abortion/respect-for-unborn-human-life|title=Respect for Unborn Human Life: The Church's Constant Teaching|publisher=[[United States Conference of Catholic Bishops]]|author=USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities|access-date=14 October 2021}}</ref>

Due to the anti-abortion stance, some Catholics oppose receiving vaccines derived from fetal cells obtained via abortion. On 21 December 2020, and regarding [[COVID-19 vaccine|COVID-19 vaccination]], the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]] emitted a document stating that "it is morally acceptable to receive Covid-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from aborted fetuses in their research and production process" when no alternative vaccine is available, since "the moral duty to avoid such passive material cooperation is not obligatory if there is a grave danger, such as the otherwise uncontainable spread of a serious pathological agent."<ref>{{Cite journal|date=1 May 2019|title=Pontifical Academy for Life Statement: Moral Reflections on Vaccines Prepared from Cells Derived from Aborted Human Foetuses|journal=[[The Linacre Quarterly]]|language=en|volume=86|issue=2–3|pages=182–187|doi=10.1177/0024363919855896|issn=0024-3639|pmc=6699053|pmid=32431408}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|author=[[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]]|date=21 December 2020|title=Note on the morality of using some anti-Covid-19 vaccines (21 December 2020)|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20201221_nota-vaccini-anticovid_en.html|access-date=23 June 2021|website=[[Holy See|Vatican]]}}</ref> The document states that receiving the vaccine does not constitute endorsement of the practice of abortion, and that "the morality of vaccination depends not only on the duty to protect one's own health, but also on the duty to pursue the common good."<ref name=":0" /> The document cautions further:{{blockquote|Those who, however, for reasons of conscience, refuse vaccines produced with cell lines from aborted fetuses, must do their utmost to avoid, by other prophylactic means and appropriate behavior, becoming vehicles for the transmission of the infectious agent. In particular, they must avoid any risk to the health of those who cannot be vaccinated for medical or other reasons, and who are the most vulnerable.<ref name=":0" />}}