Being infertile does not stop a marriage from taking place, or continuing (unless you specifically search out an infertile spouse with the intent to never have children). The inability to have sex, impotence, means a valid marriage cannot be contracted.
Abraham was neither impotent nor infertile at the time he married Sara. What does Viagra have to do with anything?
Evocative!
And yet he himself was a child once–so by Catholic precepts, he must be a blessing!
Would you have any reasonable explanation as to why a couple who intends to have an “open marriage” can’t even marry in the first place? Or, in your opinion, would it be just as reasonable for such a couple to say that it is “dumb” to have a rule about fidelity?It’s not that having children is dumb…it’s the Church being so strict on that rule that I disagree with. There are no compromises - i.e. if you are adament about not having your own children, but are willing or intend to adopt. Nope. Can’t get married. It’s gotta be your kids that you agree to raise.
Another example…a man and a woman have a child out of wedlock. Later, they want to get married, but do not want to have any more kids. The Church will refuse that marriage as well. That’s dumb that a child’s parents cannot get married simply because they don’t want any more children.
I don’t mean to be insulting, I am just expressing my opinion, but yes, it is dumb that if a man and woman fall in love, have similar values, want to spend their rest of their lives together and are perfectly suited for marriage in every way, except neither one is willing to have and raise children, they are not allowed to get married in the Catholic Church. It’s not fair and I feel sorry for people who feel obliged to follow that rule and who have to break up with their true love bc of it. I don’t know how often that happens. Maybe people lie to their priests, and get married anyway.
There are some conditions in the teachings. Do you know them?
It’s not black and white. There are conditions when it’s OK for a couple not to have children.
Those conditions are extremely limited and do not include a couple that “doesn’t want to have children” as noted in the OP.
Yes, I do. Do you know the grave reasons to avoid being open to life? Because the way you phrase the question seems to be baiting anyone that takes the chance to answer your question.
I guess that depends on where you turn to for God’s help. For some people, obeying God means obeying the doctrines of a church and for others God is found found through a merger of social views and norms mixed with Passages in the Holy Bible.Bottom line–do you seek to obey God or to merely fulfill your own desires?
Perhaps you’ve seen this recent thread already, but I’ll post the link just in case you haven’t.
Those who are infertile may marry. Those who are impotent cannot marry.
It’s not about what you believe. If you are a faithful Catholic then you must believe what the Church teaches. The Church teaches that marriage is for the creation of a family and that includes children.
How can they know that having babies would drive them nuts if they never had any babies?
Indeed it is! And it needed to be said.
Exactly my point! If one takes a certains perspective, then that applies to one as well.
That is true as well but sometimes, it is due to bad parenting. And in this age of pop psychology, bad parenting abounds.
Whether he is impotent or not has no bearing on the particular question asked. “Shacking up” would be sinful for anyone.
Even faithful Catholic can find an issue or two where the person may disagree with Church’s teaching.It’s not about what you believe. If you are a faithful Catholic then you must believe what the Church teaches. The Church teaches that marriage is for the creation of a family and that includes children.
You need to decide why you are unhappy. You are unhappy because you are not doing God’s will which is to be open to life if you choose to marry.
At 24 you hardly know what you want in life. My sister proclaimed for years that she never wanted kids. Married at 35 and then oops! Got pregnant 6 months after the wedding. She had twins! Those girls just graduated as co-valedictorians of their high school and both are attending out of state Ivy league schools. They are the greatest joy of her life. Occasionally I remind her that she didn’t want any kids.
What is behind your desire to marry? Are you lonely? Is it for companionship alone? You need to answer that question before you think about marriage. Loneliness can be resolved in many ways without jumping through hoops to circumvent the Church’s teachings.
No, you are supposed to have a properly formed conscience. In other words, you are supposed to form your conscience according to the teaching of the Magesterium. That’s the Church’s teaching.