Vatican upholds doctrine on monogamous unions
VATICAN CITY—The sacrament of marriage is a lifelong, exclusive union between a man and a woman.
The Vatican on Tuesday upheld that doctrine as it doubled down on the value of monogamous marriage in response to concerns raised by African bishops about the practice of polygamy in their flocks.
A document from the Vatican’s doctrine office said the Catholic Church had a well-documented position upholding the indissolubility of marriage as a lifelong union between spouses.
But it said the Church’s position on the unique and exclusive nature of a monogamous marriage was less well known.
In recent years at Vatican meetings of bishops, African delegates have regularly complained that polygamy is widely practiced among their flocks and asked the Vatican for guidance.
Previous writings
The doctrinal document titled “A Dear One: In Praise of Monogamy” traces the way marriage has been treated in the Bible, poetry, Christian theology and philosophy and by various popes and church councils across history. Written in Italian, the 40-page document has 256 footnotes.
Argentine Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the author and the Vatican’s doctrine chief, came under fire after he was appointed by Pope Francis in 2023, when conservatives had unearthed an out-of-print book of his titled, “Heal Me with Your Mouth. The Art of Kissing.”
A year later, another out-of-print Fernández title and similar in tone, “The Mystical Passion: Spirituality and Sensuality,” caused a stir.
The short exposé about mystical-sensual experiences with God delved into orgasms, including graphic descriptions of male and female sexual anatomy and his commentary about sexual desire, pornography, sexual satisfaction and domination, and the role of pleasure in God’s mystical plan.
Neither title was included in the list of publications the Vatican provided when Francis named Fernández as prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and gave him marching orders to radically change the office’s course.
‘Conjugal charity’
Fernández was also the author of one of the most controversial documents of Francis’ pontificate, the 2023 doctrinal statement allowing Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples.
The statement prompted an unprecedented rebuke by African bishops, who in a unified statement refused to follow it.
In his latest work, Fernández said in his introduction that it’s enough to read the final chapter on “conjugal charity” and the conclusion to take away its essential message.
The final section deals with sexuality, procreation and sexual attraction between couples and recalls Fernández’s previous writings on the topic.
