But what if I need a vasectomy for medical reasons?

[Marcus_T]

This question is a follow up to Michelle Arnold’s answer about a vasectomy. She said, “That the priest is absolutely wrong. It is a matter of basic moral theology that no one may deliberately and directly sterilize himself or herself for any reason whatsoever.”

After reading that I am very confused. You see, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer a couple of years ago and needed surgery which as a byproduct would result in me being completely sterile. I knew of the Church’s teaching on that and so I asked my parish priest if I could undergo the surgery and he said, “Absolutely, because you are having the procedure to save your life and not for birth control, but if you were doing it strictly for birth control then it would be sinful.” He went on to say, “There are always exceptions to every rule.” In fact, he gave his blessing for the surgery and told me to relax because I would not be sinning. This seems contradictory to what Michelle Arnold said. So, I guess my question is, did I sin by having this surgery even though I got the Church’s “permission”? I am very confused by what she said “for any reason whatsoever.”

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

I am very confused by what she said “for any reason whatsoever.”

I’m afraid that you focused on the wrong clause in my answer. I said, as you quoted:
Michelle Arnold:

It is a matter of basic moral theology that no one may deliberately and directly sterilize himself or herself for any reason whatsoever.

Your surgery was performed to treat cancer, and, as you also said, the byproduct (not the deliberate means or goal) of the surgery was sterility. In that case, you did not sterilize yourself – as is done in a vasectomy – but had a legitimate operation to treat cancer that left you sterile as an unintended result.

While I disagree with how your priest explained the matter to you (assuming you reported his words accurately), he was not wrong in his assessment that the procedure you underwent was legitimate. For the future, I would only caution you to read more carefully the phrasing chosen in moral injunctions.