If there's extenuating circumstances for missing mass, why not for marital act?

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You can miss mass if you’re ill, have a newborn, etc. and it’s not a grave sin. But why not for the marital act? Lots of people would like to “finish” the way the church mandates, but may have physical limitations (pain caused by pelvic inflammatory disease, endometriosis, etc, erectile disfunction). If someone would like to obey the church, but it’s difficult why is it a grave sin for the marital act but not for missing mass?
 
Because the sin in missing Mass is for violating a Church disciplinary law, and exceptions can be made for extenuating circumstances.

The sin in not completing the marital act in the proper way is in committing an act that is disordered. There are no exceptions to the natural law.

-Fr ACEGC
 
Wouldn’t killing someone be part of the natural law? And yet there is the exception of war or self defense.
Or lying. The catechism says lying is “intrinsically disordered” but there are circumstances when it is not a grave sin.
 
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Isn’t the attendance of Mass part of the Third Commandment? If so, wouldn’t Divine law be more prioritary than even natural law?
 
AlbMagno said:
Isn’t the attendance of Mass part of the Third Commandment? If so, wouldn’t Divine law be more prioritary than even natural law?
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No, the obligation to attend mass on holy days is an ecclesial law, not divine law.
 
Why it isn’t part of the Third Commandment?
 
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It is an eccelsiastical application of the Third Commandment, but it is not an absolute in itself. The obligation to attend Mass on certain days didn’t exist for much of the church’s history, and still doesn’t in the Eastern Churches, at least not quite in the same manner.
 
however, they could refrain from the act altogether, could they not?

as far as I am aware, i don’t think anyone is under obligation to have sex at all in the case of illness or medical conditions, please correct me fr. if I am wrong on that
 
Lucy_1 said:
The catechism says lying is “intrinsically disordered” but there are circumstances when it is not a grave sin.
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That does not mean it is not sin. Lying is sin. You may be less culpable if the three conditions are not met.

Sexual sins are always sin. You may be less culpable if the other two conditions are not met (because it is always grave matter).
 
In that case, Father, if the marital act is not possible due to extreme pain, is the only option to refrain from the act itself?
 
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Is lying always a sin? What about to spare a person’s feelings (do these jeans make my butt look big? 😉) Or to spare someone’s life, like hiding Jews? At most it’s a venial sin.
 
Lucy_1 said:
Wouldn’t killing someone be part of the natural law?
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This is an interesting point. Maybe there is something about the way in which the natural law is violated which makes it either a necessity to violate it (like self-defense), as opposed to a desire to violate it.

At any rate, I think there is also something to be said for the fact that man, or the Church, has to define what natural law is, and, what is and is not a violation of it, or a disorder of it. So there is some inherent room for error there.
 
There’s another option, which is treat the issues causing the pain. Failing that, then we can’t really say abstinence isn’t the only option, but one also can’t do anything immoral.
 
If you read it already, now worries, but if you missed it, would you mind to respond to my objection? Thanks
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If there's extenuating circumstances for missing mass, why not for marital act? Moral Theology
Wouldn’t killing someone be part of the natural law? And yet there is the exception of war or self defense. Or lying. The catechism says lying is “intrinsically disordered” but there are circumstances when it is not a grave sin.
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meltzerboy2 said:
In that case, Father, if the marital act is not possible due to extreme pain, is the only option to refrain from the act itself?
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Yes.

If course the person should also see their doctor in order to resolve the issue.

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Lucy_1 said:
You can miss mass if you’re ill, have a newborn, etc. and it’s not a grave sin. But why not for the marital act? Lots of people would like to “finish” the way the church mandates, but may have physical limitations (pain caused by pelvic inflammatory disease, endometriosis, etc, erectile disfunction). If someone would like to obey the church, but it’s difficult why is it a grave sin for the marital act but not for missing mass?
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If a person is capable of completing the martial act and intends to complete the marital act but happens to fail to climax on a certain occasion, there is no sin.

You can read a lot about topics related to this at the Catholic Center for Bioethics:

 
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TK421 said:
You can read a lot about topics related to this at the Catholic Center for Bioethics:

https://www.ncbcenter.org/
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Could you be more specific, as in providing a link directly to the page with the information?

I have spent some time browsing that website but can find nothing that directly relates to the topic of this thread.
 
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