The second sub-heading that I will be looking into is Permanent. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that Marriage should be eternal. This can be seen in the vows, ‘Till death do us part’. This is showing that the bond between the couple should not be broken until God sees fit to end it.
The third sub-heading that I will be studying is Exclusive. This symbolises a monogamous relationship between a man and a woman. The Roman Catholic Church does not recognise homosexual marriage, and so far it is illegal.
The last sub-heading that I will be exploring is Life Giving. There are two paths where this sub-heading leads. One of them is procreation. This is the belief that couples get married to procreate, or have children, to continue the Catholic faith, and continue to make humans in Gods image. The second path is life giving to each other, which basically means that the couple are giving life to each other. They are feeding each other the love and support that they each need to get by in life.
The Roman Catholic Church (RCC) has strong beliefs on divorce as well. No divorce is allowed in the RCC. Although they cannot prevent a Roman Catholic couple from divorcing, they will just not recognise the divorce as having taken place. If one or both of the partners re-marries, the Church says that adultery is being committed on both sides.
Annulment however is perfectly fine in the eyes of the RCC. They will look upon the marriage as non existing as long as:
- If one partner did not marry free of will
- If the couple have never had sexual relations
- If artificial contraception has always been used during sexual relations
- If the couple fail to consummate the marriage altogether.
There are many reasons why a Catholic/Christian couple would want to marry. To commit themselves to the person they love for a lifetime. To bring up children in a secure and loving home. For friendship and companionship through life. Jesus said ‘But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female, for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one. What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder.’ This is a perfect reason for people to get married, and also a plausible motive for people not to commit adultery.
Sex in the Roman Catholic Church is stereotyped as being the strictest belief system. According to the RCC, sex has but two purposes, unitive and procreative. However, the RCC is all for natural contraception, for example the withdrawl or rhythm method.
In conclusion, the Roman Catholic Church basically teaches us that God himself is the author of marriage, and that it is not purely a human institution. It is a fundamental and innate vocation of every human being.
