Theme A

• God created men and women


  • Both men and women are created in the image of God and blessed by him
  • Both men and women are equal
• Procreate


  Have children
• Complementary


  What one lacks, the other one has
• Catholic Church believes sex should be

  • Marital
  • Unitive
  • Procreative
• Sex should be an exclusive act between a husband and wife
• Marriage promises are consummated (completed) by the physical union of sex. Validates a marriage.
• Sex should express and deepen their love
• A couple commit to accept children from God
• Contrasting views


  • Casual sex is acceptable because people can choose what to do with their body
  • Sex had more than three purposes e.g. sex for pleasure
  • Artificial contraceptives allow a person to prevent pregnancy and reduce risk of STI's
  • Can show love to a person through sex without marriage but cans till be committed
• Marital Sex (Sex within marriage)

  • Unites a couple in love
  • Brings two people into a communion of persons (sharing together)
  • Shows commitment
  • Shows respect which leads to greater intimacy
  • Gives the possibility of creating new life in a loving marriage
  • Can use a woman's natural cycle to reduce chances of pregnancy (natural family planning)
• Extramarital sex (sex outside of marriage)

  • From of exploitation for personal pleasure (encourages people to treat others as sexual objects)
  • Can make people selfish and caring only for themselves
  • Adultery breaks the marriage vows
  • Lack of commitment to a partner
  • Is a sin because it distorts God's plan for human beings/purpose of sex
  • Does not respect dignity and value of humans
• Catholic Church's View on Sex before marriage

  • Sex should be an exclusive act only between a husband and a wife
  • Final step in joining the husband and wife 🡪 sex consummates a marriage
  • Sex before marriage makes it less special/devalues it
  • Having sex with lots of people can cause emotional harm/lowers a person's self-worth
  • Health benefits 🡪 if no sex before marriage, there is no chance of passing on a STI
  • No chance of unplanned pregnancy
• Contrasting Views on Sex before marriage

  • Sex can be an expression of love between two people who are in a relationship
  • Some believe casual sex is fine/sex can be for pleasure
  • Use of contraceptives stops the spread of STI's if people choose to have sex before marriage as well as reducing chances of pregnancy
• Catholic Church's View on Adultery

  • Adultery breaks the marriages promises
  • It is an act of betrayal 🡪 makes the innocent partner feel rejected, unloved, a failure etc
  • Destroys trust between a couple
  • Brings tension and distress into a family which can have a negative effect on any children the couple have
  • Adultery go against the 10 Commandments 🡪 "Do not commit adultery"
  • It can cause a marriage to break-up but a marriage is supposed to be until death
• Contrasting Views on Adultery

  • There might be a reason, such as, the couple do not love each other and have an unhappy marriage
  • Seeking personal happiness is more important even if that causes harm to someone else
  • The couple might have made a mistake in getting married and found a more suitable partner
• Catholic Church's View on Homosexuality

  • Couples of the same sex cannot reproduce naturally 🡪 Church believes that all sexual acts should be open to the possibility of new life
  • Homosexual sexual activity is not acceptable in the eyes of the Church
  • The Church accepts that some people are homosexual, the Church believes they should lead celibate lives (should not have sex)
• Contrasting Views on Homosexuality

  • Same-sex marriage was legalised in England in 2014
  • The Church of England supports same-sex civil partnerships
  • Many people in society believe that people who are homosexual should be given the same rights as everyone else, including being able to be married
  • Some people argue that it does not matter which gender you love, you should be able to express that love through the act of sex
• All people are loved by God regardless of their sexual orientation and everyone is made in 'the image of God'
• All human beings, regardless of their sexual orientation, should be treated with dignity and respect
• Conditions of a valid marriage in the Catholic Church

  • Must be free to marry/married of their own free will
  • Must not be married to anyone else who is still alive and must not have taken vows to be a priest
  • Must be consent. The consent is the moment of marriage
  • The couple must promise to be committed to each other for the rest of their lives
  • Marriage must be made in the presence of a Catholic priest
  • Must be willing to accept children
  • Must not be closely related
  • The couple must give themselves to each other physically through sex
• Marriage is an exclusive act between a man and a woman
• Marriage provides a loving relationship which allows children to grow and flourish
• Marriage is a sacrament through which God's love is give to the couple
• Marriage is a sign of love of Christ for the Church
• Public declaration

  Shows love is genuine and asks for community's support
• Ensures everyone knows identity

  No question about exactly who is making the commitment and to whom
• Recognise the difficulties as well as good times

  e.g. health benefits or financial problems
• Only death can end a marriage
• Catholic Church's View on Cohabitation

  • Goes against the idea that sex is a gift reserved for marriage
  • Breaks the sanctity of marriage and of sexual union
  • It removes a sense of commitment from a sexual union
  • May reduce effort to make relationship last without commitment of marriage
  • It goes against the traditional concept of the family
  • If the relationship breaks down, it may lead to lack of security for either of the people
  • If the couple splits up and they have children, this will affect the children
• Contrasting Views on Cohabitation

  • Cohabitation might make sense financially
  • Cohabitation can be used by couples to test whether or not they might like to get married
  • You can still have a committed relationship without being married
  • Some couples cohabit while they are planning for their wedding, knowing that they will soon be making the lifelong commitment of marriage
• Divorce is not recognised or supported by the Catholic Church
• Marriage promises made by God cannot be broken
• Marriage promises say 'till death do us part'
• Contrasting views on Divorce

  • Impossible to know what the future holds
  • If the marriage has broken down and the couple are unhappy, divorce is the compassionate solution
• Annulment is a statement made by the Catholic Church that there was no valid marriage in the first place
• Reasons that would justify an annulment

  • One of the couple continued pre-existing affairs
  • If the couple did not consummate the marriage (by having sexual intercourse)
  • If the couple have only had sex using contraception, they may be able to get an annulment because they have not been open to receiving children from God
  • If the couple were forced to get married, or had pressure placed on them to get married, their marriage is not valid
  • If either member of the couple was still tied to a previous marriage, or to other vows, their new marriage would not be valid
• Remarriage can only happen if the original partner has died
• Anyone who divorces and remarries cannot receive communion
• Remarriage is allowed if the first marriage is annulled
• Remarriage is not allowed