R
Ron_Conte
Guest
This quote is sometimes falsely attributed to Pope Pius XII. In fact it is from a Catholic lay person, G.E.M. Anscombe. She was a British analytic philosopher (1919-2001). The quote is from her article, “Contraception and Chastity”, which has been published repeatedly. The most recent publication of the entire article was in Janet E. Smith’s “Why Humanae Vitae Was Right: A Reader” as Chapter 5 of that book. Here is the quote:
“Marriage is a mutual commitment in which each side ceases to be autonomous, in various ways and also sexually: the sexual liberty in agreement together is great; here, so long as they are not immoderate so as to become the slaves of sensuality, nothing is shameful, if the complete acts – the ones involving ejaculation of the man’s seed – that they engage in, are true and real marriage acts.”
In several places online, including EWTN and CAF, the quote is misattributed to Pope Pius XII, to his Address to the Second World Congress on Fertility and Sterility (19 May 1956). However, he said nothing remotely like that quote. So the quote is her opinion, not a papal teaching.
“Marriage is a mutual commitment in which each side ceases to be autonomous, in various ways and also sexually: the sexual liberty in agreement together is great; here, so long as they are not immoderate so as to become the slaves of sensuality, nothing is shameful, if the complete acts – the ones involving ejaculation of the man’s seed – that they engage in, are true and real marriage acts.”
In several places online, including EWTN and CAF, the quote is misattributed to Pope Pius XII, to his Address to the Second World Congress on Fertility and Sterility (19 May 1956). However, he said nothing remotely like that quote. So the quote is her opinion, not a papal teaching.