The Catholic Church on Marital Intercourse From St.Paul to Pope John Paul II

includes index and biblioraphy

Biblical Approaches to Marital Sexuality .........5 St. Paul`s Unwitting Contributions to the Church`s Negative thinking on Marital Intercourse..........9 Early Church Leaders Defend Marriage Against Gnostic Attacks ........17 Augustine : The Man Who Carved in Stone the Church`s Conditional Acceptance of Marital Intercourse .....29 Monks, Theologians, Bishops, and Popes Disparage Marital Intercourse .......51 The Law of Clerical Celibacy embodies the Bias Against marital Intimacy .........61 Canon law sees nothing Spiritual in Marital Intimacy ..............69 Marriage Recognized as a Sacrament ............77 St. Thomas Aquinas : Modifications and Qualifications ...............83 Some Attempts to See Other Values in Marital Intercourse ........93 The Council of Trent: Motives for Marrying and Motives for Abstaining from Marital Intercourse ............99 A New Development : Spousal Affection Related to Love ...............105 Confessing sins related to Sexual Activity ..........113 Pope, Bishops, Theologians, and Canon Law Stress procreation as the Primary Purpose of Marriage ..........119 A New Vision : Love related to Marital Intercourse ........125 The Teaching of Pope Pius XI: Procreation or Abstinence ..........131 A rejected Perspective: Bodily Union as the direct purpose of Marital Intercourse .........139 The Break With St. Augustine : Pope Pius XII accepts the Rhythm Method ............147 The Effect of Papal Teachings :Frustration and Tears ..............155 The Second Vatican Council Recognizes the value of Marital Love .........163 The Postconciliar work of the Birth control Commission and its Culmination in Humanae vitae ................175 Pope John paul II: Old Assertions and new Perceptions ........189 Conscience and Fidelity to church teaching ..............205