Vasectomy...?

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dean24us

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Firstly, I want to say that this is an academic question. While I am certain others have been in this situation, I am not and am only seeking to answer a curiosity I have. 🙂

Let’s say a man had a vasectomy and later decided to convert to Catholicism. Assuming he is a candidate for such a procedure, would he be obliged to seek a vasectomy reversal?

I can see arguments both for and against the procedure, but (as far as I am aware) there is no clear Church teaching. What do you think?

Dean
 
No, he is not required to get a reversal and this is based on what I’ve seen in past threads. There is no Church teaching that would require that person to get a reversal. That said I would expect the person in said situation would evaluate the possibility and their reasons for why they end up choosing to get the reversal or not to get it.
 
dean24us said:
Let’s say a man had a vasectomy and later decided to convert to Catholicism. Assuming he is a candidate for such a procedure, would he be obliged to seek a vasectomy reversal?
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Yes there is clear church teaching. A reversal is NOT required.
 
Just to add another voice in confirmation, no a reversal is not required.

Of course, there would also be nothing wrong with getting a reversal, and indeed it could be a positive thing for some couples. But there is not a moral obligation to do it.
 
1ke said:
Yes there is clear church teaching. A reversal is NOT required.
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Correct, all that is required is to confess the sin of getting the vasectomy in the first place. And since a non-Catholic is not bound by Catholic teaching, I doubt he would even have to do that before being received into the Church. He only must conform to Church teaching after becoming Catholic.
 
OraLabora said:
Correct, all that is required is to confess the sin of getting the vasectomy in the first place. And since a non-Catholic is not bound by Catholic teaching, I doubt he would even have to do that before being received into the Church. He only must conform to Church teaching after becoming Catholic.
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That would be true if this were a matter of not attending mass on Sunday or eating meat on a Friday in Lent. Sterilization on the other hand is a matter of universal natural moral law, which no human being (at least not one with the use of reason) can claim compete ignorance of. Whether a partial ignorance was enough to mitigate the gravity of the sin would likely vary from case to case, but it certainly would be in the category of sins to ordinarily bring to your first confession.
 
apologies, responded to wrong thread

no there is no obligation to reverse a vasectomy even for a Catholic who has confessed and been absolved from taking that step, or for a new Catholic. There is no church document that states it. There is no debate or question, it simply is not required.
 
Thanks to everyone for the replies! đź‘Ť

I have a follow-up question: would choosing not to have the vasectomy reversal and having sex within marriage result in a state of mortal sin? The reason I ask this is that the person is willingly choosing to engage in sex that does not meet the “both unitize and open to the possibility of new life” standard. In short, it seems to me that voluntary choosing not to get the reversal, the person is in the same boat as a woman whom began using contraceptives before entering the Church and continued to use them after joining on the grounds that she started before the “rules” applied to her.

Maybe there is something I’m missing here… 🤷 Thoughts?

Dean
 
dean24us said:
Thanks to everyone for the replies! đź‘Ť

I have a follow-up question: would choosing not to have the vasectomy reversal and having sex within marriage result in a state of mortal sin? The reason I ask this is that the person is willingly choosing to engage in sex that does not meet the “both unitize and open to the possibility of new life” standard. In short, it seems to me that voluntary choosing not to get the reversal, the person is in the same boat as a woman whom began using contraceptives before entering the Church and continued to use them after joining on the grounds that she started before the “rules” applied to her.

Maybe there is something I’m missing here… 🤷 Thoughts?

Dean
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No, it’s equivalent to if one spouse were naturally sterile.
 
The only way it would be a sin is if your spouse wanted to have children, and you were aware that she wanted them. At that point it becomes a problem of selfishness, having the want and desire of the wife to have children and yet refusing to do the thing that would make it a possibility.
 
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