One vows at marriage to lovingly welcome children from the Lord. This does not mean they have to even consummate the marriage (there are valid Josephite marriages) let alone try to conceive. As long as the couple uses moral means to avoid conception, they can adopt a thousand children from foster care, have both adopted and natural children, have foster and adopted and natural children, it is all loving.
Josephite marriages are always an option, however, they are relatively rare. Quite frankly, I’ve never heard of anyone being in one, i.e., deliberately choosing from “day one” never to consummate the marriage if it is otherwise a valid sacramental marriage. I suppose anything’s possible, and it is also possible that Josephite spouses would choose to keep this fact private and not broadcast it.
I would be interested to know if a Josephite marriage could later be dissolved by the Pope because it had never been consummated (
ratum sed non consummatum). It’s probably pretty far-fetched to think that a married couple, pious enough to agree to enter a permanently Josephite marriage, would later divorce and seek to have their marriage dissolved, but again, I suppose anything’s possible.
Now, as for your comment — if I’m understanding it correctly — that a couple could use moral means to avoid conception (as opposed to living in a Josephite marriage, I assume), and as you say, “adopt a thousand child from foster care”. I always value your opinions and comments, TLL, but as far as deliberately seeking
entirely to avoid having natural children, and adopting children instead, I’d really be interested to see a priest here on CAF weigh in on this. Where are you getting it, that a couple could choose to do this? Has the Church ever allowed this?
