Last I checked, Catholicism still forbids the use of contraceptives and masturbation (at least male) on the “every sperm is sacred” principle. Does this apply to sex during pregnancy, which is also wasted sperm?
No.
Likewise wouldn’t apply to infertile couples or those who have passed child bearing age.
Don’t know where you got the ‘every sperm is sacred’ bit from, I’ve never seen that in any Catholic doctrine.
Yes, it is fine. And the principle is not that “every sperm is sacred”.
Regards,
Shodan
I did, of course, mean yes! :wally
It wasn’t meant to be taken literally, it was just a joke. I preferred writing it to citing doctrine. While we’re on the subject, what is the doctrine here? Why are condoms bad but sex during pregnancy OK?
Condoms are an artificial method of interfering with the natural process. Being pregnant is not. It is not necesary for every sexual act to be an attempt to get pregnant, the context of the sexual relationship is the important thing.
But masturbation is still a no-no, right? What’s the reason for that?
The principle is that every act of sex should be open to the possibility of conception. “Open to the possibility” is generally understood to mean that no one has placed any artificial obstacle in the way of conception, such as a condom; natural obstacles, such as the fact that the woman is already pregnant, are not a problem. In Roman Catholic teaching, sex is not only for making babies; it’s also a way to strengthen and nurture the bond between husband and wife, and continues to be so during pregnancy, past the age of menopause, and so on.
Masturbation is a no-no in RC teaching partly because it’s a sex act that is never open to the possibility of conception, and partly because it is not between a wife and husband. (Using your hands to get your partner or even yourself aroused during foreplay, of course, doesn’t count here.)
I seem to remember that coitus interruptus is considered acceptable. Is this true, and if it is, how does that rhyme with “open to the possibility of conception”? Is it allowed to ejaculate elsewhere than in the vagina?
Coitus interruptus is not acceptable, according to what I was taught back in Catholic school.
re: coitus interruptus
Actually, that’s exactly what Onan did that got him in trouble. Apparently his pulling out to ejaculate was thwarting God’s will, or something like that. Today we use the word onanism to refer to masturbation, but the original onanistic act was coitus interruptus.
So, from what I’ve read above, Catholicism frowns upon the other two popular forms of male-female coupling?
Trying to be careful with verbiage-this ain’t the Pit
I think it’s called “no sperm left behind”.
Or is that “no sperm left in the behind”.
It’s all very confusing.
According to Monsignor Blanketyblank, who ‘taught’ catechism and other things to us in the 8th grade, (and I use his example) if a young man came back from Viet Nam with a land mine injury that had removed his main reproductive ‘organ’, that man could not be married (in a Catholic ceremony) to his sweetheart who had waited, faithfully, for his return… because… the sole purpose of marriage is coitus within marriage for procreation.
Of course, the same aforesaid Monsignor also told us that a child born of a couple of mixed ‘ethnicity’ would be zebra-striped.
So, the above may or may not be Church doctrine, but at least some of my classmates believed it was.
Your mileage with God may vary.
Is Catholicism OK with sex during pregnancy?
Only if you’re doing it to double-check.
I learned that he withdrew then completed the act manually. Makes sense to me. :dubious:
No, it really does.
Peace,
mangeorge
It’s not entirely clear whether it was coitus interruptus or masturbation. What is clear, though, is that his “crime” was NOT the sexual act per se, but the fact that he was deliberately avoiding fulfilling his duty to impregnate his brother’s widow. (see Genesis 38).
I think its pretty clear its not masturbation we’re talking about here, but Josh’s interpretation of what which part God thought was wicked makes sense to me.