Chapter LXIII: Part II: SPECIAL MORAL THEOLOGY (Continued) (26)

(b) The prohibition of the cremation of corpses (Canon 1203) is not based on natural law or on any dogma, as though the burning of dead bodies were intrinsically evil or repugnant to our faith in immortality and resurrection. On the contrary, in exceptional cases (e.g., in time of war or epidemic) cremation is permitted, if a real public necessity requires it. The reasons for the anti-cremation law are: the tradition of the Old and New Testaments (Gen., iii, 19; I Cor., xv. 42), and especially the example of Christ whose body was consigned to the tomb; the association of burial throughout the history of the Church with sacred rites and the doctrine of the future life, and the contrary association of cremation both in times past and today with paganism and despair; the sacred dignity of the human body (Gen., i. 25; I Cor., iii. 16, vi. 5), and the feeling of affection for parents, relatives, friends, which is outraged when their bodies are consigned to the furnace. The practical arguments offered for cremation are chiefly hygienic and economic; but it is certain that proper burial at sea or in the grave is no menace to public health, and is not more expensive or difficult than cremation. A most serious objection to cremation is that it makes exhumation impossible, and is therefore a means of concealing murder by poison. It is not lawful for a Catholic to cooperate (except materially in case of necessity) with cremation, or to belong to any society that promotes the incineration of corpses; it is not lawful for a priest to give the last Sacraments or funeral rites to those who ordered the cremation of their bodies.

2596. The Special Duties of Clerics.--From the duties of Catholics in general we pass now to the special duties of clerics; for the clergy, on account of their position as the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matt., v. 16), are bound to a greater internal and external holiness and edification than the laity. The word “cleric” is understood in a wide or in a strict sense. In the wide sense, a cleric is any Christian specially set apart for the service of God, whether by ordination or religious profession (e.g., lay brothers, nuns); in the strict sense, a cleric (clergyman) is one who has been admitted to Orders, or at least to their preparation through tonsure (Canon 108).

(a) Duties Before Entering the Clerical State.--The person who would enter the clerical state must have a vocation and a right intention. As to the latter, since the clerical state has for its ends the glory of God and the salvation of souls, it would be a serious sin to choose it principally for temporal ends, such as wealth, dignity or pleasure; but it is not a sin to desire secondarily and moderately the necessary support of the clerical state (I Cor., ix, 3).

(b) Duties After Entering the Clerical State.--The privileges of clerics are treated in canonical works. Here we speak only of duties. The obligations of a cleric are of two kinds--the positive, such as celibacy, and the negative, such as the avoidance of unbecoming amusements or occupations.

2597. Vocation to the Clerical State.--(a) Internal Vocation.--No one should enter the religious or clerical state unless called thereto by God (John, xv. 16; Acts, xiii. 2; Heb., v. 4, 5; I Cor., xii. 4 sqq.). The foundation of the entire religious, priestly and apostolic life, namely divine vocation, consists of two essential elements, the one divine, the other ecclesiastical. As to the first element, God’s call to embrace the priestly or religious life must be considered so necessary that in its absence the foundation upon which the whole structure is to rest is absent (Pius XII, _Sedes Sapientiae_). The signs of a divine call do not necessarily or even ordinarily include a feeling of inspiration or invitation from the Holy Spirit, but it suffices that one may have a liking, a right intention, and fitness (physical, mental, moral) for the life; for, where God gives a call, He gives the means to fulfill the duties. Thus, those who will not be able to say Mass, or who cannot master Latin or theology, or who cannot observe celibacy, or who are vicious (e.g., mischief-makers, drunkards) or unspiritual (e.g., the lazy, those who dislike exercises of piety), do not show the signs of a priestly vocation.

(b) External Vocation.--No one should be admitted to the religious life or to Orders unless he has given sufficient signs of a call from God. Thus, a Bishop would sin most gravely and be a sharer in the sins of others if he conferred Major Orders on anyone about whose unworthiness he was morally certain on positive grounds (Canon 973); nor may a Religious Superior receive to profession any novice about whom he is doubtful (Canon 571). Scarcity of vocations is no excuse for laxity, since it is better to have a few creditable clerics than a multitude of unworthy ones (Benedict XIV). What St. Paul said of deacons (“Let these first be proved, and so let them minister, having no crime,” I Tim., iii. 10), is therefore to be applied to all candidates for the clerical life. A vocation is tested by the years of probation which the church law provides for seminarians, novices and other aspirants to the ecclesiastical state. No cleric has a right to ordination before he receives the free call from a bishop, but on the other hand it is criminal to prevent a suitable candidate from embracing the clerical state (Canon 971). “By a divine vocation to the religious and clerical state a person undertakes publicly to lead a life of holiness in the Church, a visible and hierarchical society, and to exercise this hierarchical ministry. Such a person, therefore, ought to be authoritatively tested, approved and directed by the hierarchical rulers to whom God has entrusted the administration of the Church” (Pius XII, _Sedes Sapientiae_).

2598. Sinfulness of Disregarding Vocation.--(a) He who enters the clerical state, not knowing that he has a vocation, is guilty of sin, as is clear from the previous paragraph. According to some, anyone who receives Major Orders, even with serious doubt about his vocation, commits a mortal sin, since he inflicts a serious injury on the rights of God, the Church, himself and his neighbor. According to others, the sin is only venial when one enters the clerical state conscious of the absence of vocation, but determined with the help of God to live up to all the duties; for, though the act is rash, there is good will and good intention, and grace will not be wanting.

(b) He who refuses to enter the clerical state, though knowing for certain that he has a vocation, is also guilty of sin, for only negligence or improper motives such as laziness, sensuality, or too great love of liberty can produce such reluctance. The sin is grave or light according to the circumstances. There is grave sin, if the resistance to the call constitutes serious disobedience, pride or uncharitableness (e.g., if there were a great scarcity of priests and the bishop commanded a worthy layman to take Orders); there is venial sin in other cases when the rejection is only dissent to an invitation and exposes neither self nor other to grave peril of losing salvation. Finally, if the signs of vocation do not produce certainty, there may be no sin at all, but rather virtue, in refusal to ascend to the clerical state, for no one is bound to take up grave obligations when uncertain of his duties, and many holy persons from humility or fear of unworthiness have decided, against the advice or invitation of others, not to become clerics.

2599. The Positive Duties of Clerics.--(a) Duties to God.--All clerics are held to frequent reception of the Sacrament of Penance, to daily devotions (i.e., mental prayer, visit to the Blessed Sacrament, a third part of the Rosary, examen), and to triennial spiritual retreats (Canons 125, 126). Moreover, clerics in Sacred Orders, benefice holders, and solemnly professed religious bound to the choir are obliged to the daily recitation of the Canonical Hours, each one according to his own rite and calendar (Canons 135, 213 sqq., 1475, 610). This obligation is grave, because its purpose is the important one of consecrating each hour of the day by the public prayer of the Church according to the usage that goes back to the earliest centuries. But the choral obligation of simply professed religious is light, unless the choir is impossible without their presence.

(b) Duties to Superiors.--Clerics are especially obliged to show respect to their Ordinaries and to give them the obedience promised in ordination (Canon 127).

(c) Duties to the Clerical State.--Clerics are required to cultivate their minds by sacred and sound studies, and to this end examinations and conferences are also prescribed (Canons 129-131); to keep themselves pure in soul and body by the observance of celibate chastity (Canons 132, 133); to conduct themselves in externals (dwelling, dress, etc.) in a manner befitting their position (Canons 134, 136). The clerical garb in this country is the cassock or habit in the house and church, and dark clothes and the Roman collar, or other distinctive sign for priests and brothers elsewhere. The dress of the clergy should avoid the extremes of dudishness and slovenliness (Second Council of Baltimore, 148; Third Council, 77). The duty of wearing clerical dress at least away from home and regularly is of serious importance, since its purpose is the honor of the clerical state and the protection of its members. It is also forbidden to clerics to cultivate their hair (e.g., to grow long locks, to use curling irons, to oil or perfume their head in dandyish fashion), since this is unbecoming in the followers of a thorn-crowned Leader. The use of the beard is a thing indifferent in itself, and hence it is forbidden in some places (generally in the Latin Church) and required in others (as in the Orient), according to tradition and local usage.

2600. The Obligation of the Divine Office.--(a) Matter.--A cleric is gravely obliged to recite the Office according to his own rite and in the language of his rite, and not to make any notable change in the Office prescribed by the Ordo, either as to quantity (e.g., by omission of a Little Hour or of parts equally long) or as to quality (e.g., by substitution of a minor office for that of one of the great solemnities.) The omission of the Vespers of Holy Saturday, of Pretiosa, or of the Rogation Litanies seems to be only a venial sin, because in the first two cases the prayer is short, while in the third case the precept seems to be _sub levi_. There is also lightness of matter in the omission of an inconsiderable part of the day’s Office, or in the substitution without good reason of an equal part for a prescribed part.

(b) Manner.--Since the Office is a prayer, of a public and daily kind, it must be said: mentally, that is, there must be at least virtual intention (which is present from the fact that one takes up the Breviary to fulfill the obligation) and at least external attention (see 2166 sqq.); vocally, that is, the words must be consciously formed by the lips, mouth, or tongue, but it is not necessary that they be audible, unless two or more are saying the Office together; within the limits of the day, that is, Matins and Lauds may be anticipated from 2 p.m. of the previous day, but the whole Office must be finished before midnight of the current day. These are substantial requisites and bind _sub gravi_, but there may be only venial sin when they are deviated from inconsiderably. Next, since the Office has a continuity of thought, an order of precedence among its hours and their subdivisions, and a special dignity, it must be said uninterruptedly (i.e., without break between the parts of an hour), in order (i.e., according to the succession of Matins, Lauds, Prime, etc.), with external respect as to place and posture (i.e., he who is bound to choral Office should say it in choir and with the rubrical postures, while he who is bound only to private Office should say it in church or some other becoming place, and should observe the rubrical or at least a respectful posture). These are accidental requisites and bind _sub levi_. For a good reason one may interrupt the Office even for a notable part of the day (e.g., one may discontinue in the midst of a Psalm to pay a duty of politeness or to attend to business), and for convenience one may invert the order of hours or of parts of hours, or may say the evening hours in the morning.

2601. Excuses from the Obligation of the Divine Office.--(a) For Substitution.--A sufficient reason makes it permissible to substitute another office not notably different in quantity or quality, as when one lacks a new office, or has greater devotion for another office. When substitution has been made unintentionally, the following rules may be observed, though the last two are not admitted by all: office counts for office, (e.g., he who through mistake has said the office of another day may let that office stand for today’s office, but should add enough to make up for any notable shortness in the office said); hour does not count for hour (e.g., he who through mistake said Tierce twice cannot count the second Tierce for Sext); an error should be corrected when noticed (e.g., he who notices at Sext that he is not saying the right office should change from Sext); an error is not corrected by another error (e.g., he who said today’s office yesterday should not say yesterday’s office today).

(b) For Omission.--The causes that excuse, in whole or in part, from recitation of the Office are physical inability (e.g., loss of the breviary, blindness of one who does not know the hours by heart, sickness or convalescence which makes the recitation a grave hardship), moral impossibility (e.g., when an urgent duty of charity or justice so takes up one’s time that one cannot get in all the Office), just dispensation or commutation given by the Pope or, for temporary release, by the Ordinary.

2602. The Precept of Clerical Celibacy.--(a) Origin.--This law is not divine but ecclesiastical, since it arose, not from any command of Christ, but from a custom of the Church that goes back to the first centuries. Nevertheless, celibacy of the clergy is an imitation of Christ and the Apostles, a following of the counsel given by the Lord, an honor to the sacrifice of the altar, and an example that single chastity is possible. Moreover, by means of it the priest is freed from domestic relations and better enabled to minister as the father, pastor, confessor and counsellor of his people. The celibate is unencumbered by family responsibilities and expenses, and is therefore better able to respond to difficult and dangerous tasks, such as mission work in pagan lands and ministrations to the dying in fire, wreck, or plague, The Church does not denounce or condemn the married clergy of non-Catholic bodies; on the contrary, she permits to some extent a married clergy among the Oriental Catholics, who for many centuries have been accustomed to a married priesthood. But the law of celibacy for the Catholic clergy has not only proved itself more suitable for their work, but it has also justified itself by the general fidelity with which it has been observed and the attachment to it of clergy and laity alike.

(b) Obligation.--The law commands chastity as a grave duty of religion (Canon 132); it forbids the contract or use of marriage (Canon 1072). It forbids, where there is danger to chastity or scandal, cohabitation and companionship with women (Canon 133). Cohabitation refers to dwelling in the same house, even though it be only during the day, and the woman be a servant; companionship refers to visits, conversations, signs of friendship, and the like. The danger to good name or virtue depends on circumstances, such as age, beauty, levity, and privacy of association; and the law presumes that a relationship is suspicious unless a woman is a near relative by blood or by marriage (i.e., in the first or second degree), or is mature in age (about forty years old) and proved in virtue and of good repute.

2603. Negative Duties of Clerics.--The negative duties of clerics are the avoidance of certain acts, occupations, or amusements forbidden as worldly, undignified, dangerous, distracting or scandalous (I Thess., v. 22; II Tim., ii. 4).

(a) Forbidden Acts.--A cleric may not go surety without permission, lest he or his church be involved in scandalous embarrassments (Canon 137); nor engage in trade, lest he be distracted from his spiritual duties and exposed to the danger or suspicion of injustice or greed (Canon 142; for penalty attached see Decree of the Sacred Congregation of the Council, AAS, 42-33D).

(b) Forbidden Occupations.--These include, first, employments and pursuits unbecoming to clerics (such as those of butcher, actor, innkeeper); next, those that are incompatible with the ministry (such as the practice for profit of the medical profession, public magistracies, government jobs, civil court functions, legislative offices, Canon 139); finally, those that are contrary to the mildness that should distinguish clerics (viz, the occupation of fighting man or soldier, Canon 141; see also Canon 984 on executioners). But exceptions may be made for a just cause.

(c) Forbidden Amusements.--Clerics should not take part in undignified diversions or cruel sports, such as the hunting of big game with great uproar of dogs and guns (Canon 138) or in gambling, and they should not enter saloons or similar places (Canon 138). Clerics are also forbidden to assist at unbecoming shows, performances, dances, or at any theatrical entertainment where their presence gives scandal (Canon 140). To gamble much (say, several times a week and for a considerable time at each game) is considered a serious matter; but it is not sinful to indulge in a game of chance now and then, if the stakes are moderate and there is no scandal.

2604. The Prohibition against Trading.--(a) Meaning.--Trading as here understood is purely gainful merchandizing (i.e., buying an article at a lower price in order to sell it unchanged at a higher price) or industrial merchandizing (i.e., buying an article in order to sell it at a profit after it has been changed by hired labor). Hence, there is no canonical trading in commerce which lacks one of the conditions mentioned, for example, if one buys goods for one’s household or community and, on discovering that a superfluity has been purchased, sells at a profit what is left over (see 2134, 2135). Trading includes not only a business conducted personally or for personal profit, but also one conducted through agents or for the benefit of others, such as the poor or pious causes.

(b) Obligation.--The violation of this law is grave in itself, but a serious sin demands on the part of the subject that there be real trading (i.e., a number of acts morally united and proceeding from a purpose to continue in lucrative merchandizing), and on the side of the object that there be a large amount involved. Hence, it would be venial to engage in lucrative trading with a large profit once, and with a small profit twice or thrice.

(c) Excuses.--Necessity (e.g., if a cleric needs the money to live or to maintain his state, or if a business has fallen to him by inheritance and cannot be given up without loss) justifies trading, if there is permission.

2605. Is It Lawful for Clerics to Purchase and Sell Stocks and Bonds?--(a) If this conduct has the character of gambling or trading for profit, it is forbidden by Canon 138 or 142, as the case may be, and is gravely or venially sinful according to the circumstances. Thus, pure speculation or mere betting on the market is a game of chance, and the frequent purchase of stocks with the thought of quick sales and huge profits from sudden changes of the market is lucrative trading.

(b) If the gambling or trading element is absent, the conduct in question is not forbidden by Canon Law. It is generally admitted that bond investments are permissible, since they are only a loan of one’s money at interest. There are two views about stock dealings: the stricter view regards them as always containing the character of forbidden trading (since all the notes of strict negotiation are found in them), or at least as being a game of chance; the milder view, which is common, holds that they are no more an affair of chance than many other business undertakings, and that there is no strict negotiation, if the stockholder is not a member or director of the corporation, since the buying and selling is done neither directly nor indirectly by him. Buying of stocks, then, may be nothing more than a prudent investment of money in a deserving enterprise with the hope of a reasonable return, and selling out the stocks at a large profit may be nothing more than the disposal of superfluous goods which it would be inconvenient to retain. It must be remembered, though, that it is unlawful to cooperate with a company whose purpose is evil or suspect, or to have part in frauds, or to give disedification.

2606. Special Duties of Clerical Superiors from Divine Law.--(a) As individuals, they should strive to be personally more perfect than their subjects, for they are supposed to give an example in faith, religion, zeal, labor, and self-denial, “being made a pattern of the flock from the heart” (I Peter, v. 3).

(b) As rulers, they must have the virtues of good superiors, such as legal justice or firm devotion to the common good, distributive justice or avoidance of partiality and prejudice, prudence or knowledge of how to direct men and means successfully to the glory of God and the salvation of souls, and commutative justice or respect for the rights of subjects.

(c) As pastors, they must avoid the qualities of the wolf and of the hireling, and cultivate those of the good shepherd, being kind and amiable to Catholic and non-Catholic, and practising the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.

2607. Special Duties from Canon Law of Those Who Have Care of Souls.--(a) Bishops have grave obligations of residing in their see or diocese (Canon 338), of attending to the instruction of their flock (Canons 1327, 336), of applying the Mass _pro populo_ (Canon 339), of making a diocesan report (Canon 340), of confirming and of ordaining worthy candidates (Canon 785), of visiting their dioceses (Canon 343), of making the _ad limina_ visit (Canons 340, 342), and of calling a diocesan synod at least every tenth year (Canon 356).

(b) Pastors must reside generally in their parish (Canon 465), and, if lawfully absent, they must make provision for the sick calls and other spiritual necessities of their flocks. They must preach the word of God on Sundays and holydays, and it would be a serious matter to neglect this duty for a considerable time (e.g., a whole month) without good reason (Canon 1344). It is also a serious obligation to attend to the necessary catechetical instruction of young and old (Canons 1330, 1332), to apply the Mass _pro populo_ (Canon 466), and to administer the Sacraments (at least Baptism, Penance, Extreme Unction) to those in grave spiritual need (see 1167). Pastors are also obliged to know their flock, to visit the sick and dying, to correct abuses, to see that the customary administration of the Sacraments and the usual church functions are attended to, to watch over the schooling of the children, and to direct the temporalities and attend to the reports and records of the parish. The duties of chaplains of hospitals, institutions, soldiers, etc., are similar to those of pastors, but in particular cases the former are subject to special prescriptions or to local usage or to rules made by the Ordinary.

(c) Assistant pastors are subject in the care of souls to the instruction and direction of the parish-priest. Their particular duties are known from the diocesan statutes, the letters of the Ordinary, and the commission of the pastor. Regularly, they are bound to reside in the parish rectory and to assist the pastor or supply for him in all the parish work, the Mass _pro populo_ excepted (Canon 476).

2608. The Duty of Charity to the Poor.--(a) According to Canon Law all beneficed clergy (Cardinals excepted) must give all the superfluous fruits of their benefice to charitable or pious causes (Canon 1473). But it is an extremely strict view which holds that all the secular clergy are beneficed.

(b) According to the divine law of charity (see 1226, 1252) even the unbeneficed clergy have the duty of giving alms from their surplus wealth. Thus, it would be unmerciful if a clergyman spent on himself all the fortune he had inherited from his relatives without thought of the poor; it would be often a source of scandal if a priest enriched his relatives with money received in ministerial ways, but left nothing to pious causes.

2609. Canon 1473 on the Disposition of Superfluous Wealth by Beneficed Clergy.--(a) The Money to be Spent.--The Canon does not refer to the property of the Church (i.e., the foundation or endowment of the benefice), for of this the beneficed clergyman is only the administrator, and he would be unjust if he alienated its funds to other purposes; nor does it refer to the clergyman’s own property, such as goods received by inheritance or other profane title (_patrimonialia_), or by title of personal ministerial service, such as stipends and fees (_quasi-patrimonialia_). It refers, then, to the revenues of the benefice (e.g., the bishop’s or pastor’s salary) and to the amount that is left over after the deduction of all reasonable and customary expenses that have been made, or could have been made for decent personal support.

(b) The Use of Surplus Money.--The alms should be given to any pious or charitable cause, such as the promotion of divine worship, the assistance of needy missions, the spiritual or corporal works of mercy. The cleric is free to bestow his gift either during his lifetime (which is better) or to leave it in his will.

2610. The Obligation of Canon 1473.--(a) The obligation is most probably not one of justice, since the holder of the benefice owns the superfluous fruits, but one of obedience to the Church. Some authors also consider this precept as binding in virtue of religion and charity, and regard its violation as a sacrilege or sin against charity. The holder of the benefice is not held to restitution, however, since neglect of the precept is not an injustice. As to his successors through gift inter vivos or testament, they are not bound to give the superfluities as an alms, since the church precept was for the cleric himself. Successors to an intestate should observe the wishes of the deceased, but, if the character of the goods they inherit is doubtful, they may usually be left in good faith.

(b) The obligation is grave, since it is commanded as an act of religion, or at least as an act of obedience in a very important matter. From the time of the Apostles it was customary to distribute to the poor what was left over of the goods of the Church, and the clergy were regarded as the fathers and protectors of the needy. Again, since the goods of a benefice originated in gifts offered to God Himself, it is most becoming that their superfluities be devoted to the causes most pleasing to God. Grave matter would be three times the amount required in theft, because a violation of this precept is not the taking of what is not one’s own, but the using in a forbidden way of what is one’s own.

2611. The Special Duties of Religious.--The particular obligations of religious are declared in the proper rules of the various institutes, just as the particular obligations of the secular clergy are set forth in the statutes of local synods and councils. We shall outline here only the general obligations of religious, to which they are held by the common law of the Church.

(a) By reason of his profession, a religious is obliged to strive after the perfection of charity (see 1560, 367) through the religious life, that is, by means of the rules and constitutions of his own institute (Canon 593). All religious, superiors and subjects, are bound to observe their laws, but _per se_ these laws oblige under penalty, not under sin (see 570). _Per accidens_, however, the transgression of rule or constitutions may be sinful, as when the matter belongs also to divine or church law or to the observance of a vow, or when the transgression includes contempt, scandal, or demoralization of discipline.

(b) By reason of the vows, a religious is obliged to follow the three evangelical counsels (see 2191 sqq.) and any other vows of his institute according to his rule (e.g., poverty is a renunciation of even community possession in some rules and of individual possession in others). The vows oblige _per se_ under grave sin, on account of the duty of religion (see 2209) and the intention of the religious to bind himself gravely; but there may be venial sin on account of imperfection of act or lightness of matter.

2612. The Obligation of the Three Principal Vows.--(a) Poverty is a renunciation of the independent use of external corporal goods, such as money and lands and chattels (simple vow), or also of the radical dominion (see 1697) or right of ownership of such goods (solemn vow). Grave matter in the unjust violation of poverty seems to be the same as in other acts of unjust damage or acquisition, and hence in thefts from outsiders a less amount is grave matter, in domestic thefts from the monastery a greater sum is required (see 1900, 1903). Grave matter in the violation of poverty that is not unjust (e.g., in use of money without permission) seems to be the same as absolutely grave matter for thefts, unless the constitutions rule otherwise; but grave matter here does not coalesce from many small violations. The virtue, but not the vow, of poverty is offended by purely internal acts (e.g., attachment to wealth), and there is no offense at all in dominion over spirituals (such as fame, good reputation) which are not renounced by the vow of poverty, and in certain acts of disposition (e.,g., acceptance of deposit, distribution of alms) or proprietorship (e.g., of manuscripts) permitted by rule.

(b) Chastity is a renunciation of all venereal pleasure, internal and external, lawful and unlawful. Grave matter is the same as for the virtue of chastity, but the vow could be violated without the violation of the virtue (e.g., in the use of marriage by one simply professed). For the protection of this vow the Church has made the law of cloister, which forbids under certain conditions the entrance of outsiders into a religious house or the egress of the religious (Canons 547, 598, 600-604, 679, 2342).

(c) Obedience is the renunciation of one’s own will with the duty of submission to commands of a Superior given according to the rules and constitutions. There is grave matter against the vow if one disobeys in an important matter imposed by the Superior in the name of obedience and according to the rite prescribed by the rule or constitutions (see 2364). The virtue, but not the vow, is offended by internal insubordination (see 2357); neither virtue nor vow is offended when a Superior commands what is above the rule (e.g., the accomplishment of the impossible, heroic acts that do not pertain to the nature of the institute), or against the rule, unless he has power to dispense, or probably what is beneath the rule (such as things manifestly ridiculous and useless). Since obedience is vowed to the precepts of the Superior, the vow is not broken by transgression of points of the rule not expressly included under the vow, nor by transgressions of the general precepts of God and the Church.

Art. 2: THE DUTIES OF MEMBERS OF DOMESTIC AND CIVIL SOCIETY

2613. The Duties of Husbands and Wives.--Conjugal obligations may be classed under three heads according to the three ends of marriage.

(a) Thus, the first blessing of marriage is offspring, and this imposes upon parents the obligation of providing for their children and of training them in mind and will (see 2630 sqq.).

(b) The second blessing of marriage is fidelity to the engagement made by husband and wife to deliver to each other exclusive power over their bodies for procreation (conjugal debt) and to love each other with a special but pure affection: “The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband; and in like manner the husband hath not power of his own body but the wife” (I Cor., vii. 4); “Husbands, love your wives as Christ also loved the Church” (Eph., v. 25). Conjugal love admits no rivals; the husband must prefer his wife to every other woman, and the wife likewise must think more of her husband than of any other man (see 1179).

(c) The third blessing of marriage is the Sacrament or the unbreakable bond of marriage: “The Lord commanded that the wife depart not from the husband, and if she depart that she remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband. And let not the husband put away his wife” (I Cor., vii. 10). This imposes the duties of a permanent domestic society in which the spouses dwell together permanently and each has certain special functions of assistance to the other.

2614. The Obligation of Paying the Conjugal Debt.--(a) The duty is one of justice, since it arises from the contract of marriage, in which the parties freely and solemnly bind themselves to it as the subject-matter of their pact.

(b) The obligation is grave, since the marriage contract is one of the most momentous of human agreements, its direct end being the propagation of the race, while the denial of its essential right is productive of most serious evils, such as incontinence, scandals and the disruption of families. There is light matter, however, as when the request is not imperative, or the denial is infrequent and without danger of incontinence.

2615. Absence of Obligation.--The obligation of paying the conjugal debt does not exist, however, when the right to make the request has been lost or when the request is unreasonable.

(a) Thus, the right to make the request is lost when one party has broken faith by committing adultery and has not been forgiven by the innocent party, and also when one party is incapable (e.g., on account of insanity or drunkenness) of asking in a rational manner.

(b) The request is unreasonable, first, when it is immoderate (e.g., when it cannot be granted without serious and unusual detriment to health, or without danger of death, or without likelihood of abortion or other great harm to a child conceived or to be conceived); secondly, when it is seductive (e.g., when it is an invitation to commit onanism).

2616. Suspension of Obligation.--The obligation of granting and the right of requesting conjugal relations are suspended when the marriage is discovered to be null or uncertain.

(a) Thus, if the marriage is certainly null, abstinence is necessary until the marriage is made valid; otherwise the parties are guilty of fornication. But if nullity is due to a merely ecclesiastical impediment, the impediment probably ceases in cases of most grave inconvenience when the nullity is known to only one spouse and the dispensation cannot be obtained at once.

(b) If the marriage is only doubtfully null, abstinence is not necessary unless both parties have a serious doubt and no examination has yet been made. Light doubts should not be considered, nor doubts that have not been corroborated by investigation; while, if only one party doubts, he or she cannot refuse the debt lest injustice be done the other.

2617. Is There an Obligation of Requesting Conjugal Intercourse?--(a) _Per se_, there is no obligation, since one may lawfully decide not to enjoy one’s right, and not to use what belongs to one. As man and wife were free to marry or not to marry, so are they free to agree either to consummate or not consummate marriage. It is even lawful for married people to contract together to abstain temporarily or permanently from marriage relations (e.g., for the sake of health, or of economy, or of mortification). By mutual consent one or both may make a vow of chastity, as was done by St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin, or the husband may enter the priesthood and the wife become a nun.

(b) _Per accidens_, there is often an obligation of requesting intercourse, for experience shows that continual non-use of marriage often leads to incontinence or to loss of affection (see 2228).

2618. The Morality of Venereal Acts of Marriage.--(a) Non-consummated Acts.--These acts, whether internal or external, are lawful _per se_ when they are used only as accessories to the act of marriage or as means to foster or preserve conjugal love, for the acts are meant by God to serve the purposes mentioned (2510). But _per accidens_ there may be venial sin, on account of inordinateness in the motive (i.e., when only pleasure is intended), or in the manner (i.e., when due decency is not observed). There is mortal sin when these acts are not referred to the lawful conjugal act, but either directly or indirectly to pollution, namely, when there is foreseen proximate danger of pollution and the acts are either solitary or cooperative but performed without sufficient reason (such as expressions of special affection), for pollution is gravely sinful in the married, as well as in the single state (see 2539 sqq.).

(b) Natural Consummated Act.--This act in itself is not only lawful, but meritorious, because it exercises such virtues as obedience (Gen., i. 28), justice (I Cor., vii. 3 sqq.), and love of the common good and religion (Tob., viii. 9). Since marriage intercourse has for its ends not only reproduction, but also the expression of mutual love and the allaying of concupiscence, it is lawful even when conception is impossible or less probable, as when the parties are sterile, or the woman is pregnant, or during the so-called agenesic period, or at the time of lactation. It is a venial sin to exercise the conjugal act when one excludes every motive except that of pleasure (Denziger, n. 1159); and there may be even mortal sin on account of circumstances, such as place (e.g., scandal to others present), manner (e.g., external immoderation, internal desire of another person), evil consequences (e.g., when one of the parties has a contagious or veneral disease, when abortion will likely result, etc.).

(c) Unnatural Consummated Acts.--Pollution is mortally sinful (2535 sqq.), and is worse in married than in single persons, as being an injury to the faith pledged in marriage; and hence it is not lawful to practise it even for the purpose of artificial fecundation. Rectal copulation is also gravely sinful, being unnatural lust (see 2534) and a violation of conjugal faith. The usual forms of unnatural vaginal coition, which are very much practised today, are contraceptive in purpose, and are of two general kinds in the procedure--the physiological or preventive, which uses instruments to keep the semen from the uterus (such as sponges or pessaries for the female, condoms or protectors for the male), or which employs douches or syringes to remove semen from the vagina, or uses chemicals to devitalize it.

2619. Nota.--(a) Non habetur onanismus, nec peccatum, si copula abrumpitur, ex necessitate (v.g., ad vitandum scandalum persona inopinate supervenientis), vel ex utilitate, mutuo dato consensu et periculo pollutionis excluso; nam seminatio extra vas, aut involuntaria est, aut nulla.

(b) Non habetur contraceptio nec peccatum, sed potius actus honestus, si, ob defectum physicum viri vel mulieris, naturae adjuvetur mediis artificialibus ut copula fiat, vel ut semen introducatur in uterum; nam fini matrimonii non obstat, sed obsecundat iste modus agendi.

(c) Artificial Insemination. The subject-matter of the latter part of the preceding paragraph is distinguished from several unlawful practices considered by moralists under the heading of artificial insemination. Pope Pius XII on several occasions has given a clear, accurate and complete statement of Catholic teaching on the subject. We append here his texts:

1) The practice of artificial insemination, when it refers to man, cannot be considered, either exclusively or principally, from the biological and medical point of view, ignoring the moral and legal one.

Artificial insemination, outside of marriage, must be condemned as essentially and strictly immoral.

Natural law and divine positive law establish, in fact, that the procreation of a new life cannot but be the fruit of marriage. Only marriage safeguards the dignity of the spouses (principally of the wife in the present case) and their personal good. It alone provides for the well-being and education of the child.

It follows that no divergence of opinion among Catholics is admitted on the condemnation of artificial insemination outside of marriage. The child conceived in those conditions would be, by that very fact, illegitimate.

Artificial insemination produced in a marriage by the active element of a third party is equally immoral and consequently to be condemned without appeal.

Only the spouses have a reciprocal right upon each other’s body to generate a new life: an exclusive, inalienable right, which cannot be ceded. And so it must be, even out of consideration for the child. On whoever gives life to a small being, nature imposes, by the very strength of that tie, the duty to keep and educate it. But no ties of origin, no moral or legal bonds of conjugal procreation, exist between the legitimate husband and the child who is the fruit of the active element of a third party (even if the husband has given his consent).

As far as the legitimacy of artificial insemination in marriage is concerned, it suffices, for the moment, to recall these principles of natural law: the simple fact that the result desired is obtained by this means does not justify the use of the means itself; nor does the desire of the husband and wife, in itself perfectly legitimate, to have a child, suffice to establish the legitimacy of resorting to the artificial insemination which would satisfy this desire.

It would be erroneous, therefore, to think that the possibility of resorting to this means might render valid a marriage between persons unable to contract it because of the _impedimentum impotentiae_.

On the other hand, it is superfluous to mention that the active element can never be obtained legitimately by means of acts against nature.

Although new methods cannot be ruled out a priori for the sole reason of their novelty, nonetheless, as far as artificial impregnation is concerned, extreme caution is not enough; it must be absolutely excluded. Saying this does not necessarily proscribe the use of certain artificial means destined only to facilitate the natural act, or to assure the accomplishment of the end of the natural act regularly performed.

Let it never be forgotten that only the procreation of a new life according to the will and the designs of the Creator brings with it, to a marvelous degree of perfection, the accomplishment of the proposed ends. It is at the same time in conformity with corporeal and spiritual nature and the dignity of the married couple, as well as with the healthy, normal development of the child (Address to Physicians, Sept. 29, 1949, _Discorsi e Radiomessaggi_, vol. xi, pp. 221 ff).

2) We also believe that it is of capital importance for you, gentlemen, not to neglect this perspective when you consider the methods of artificial fecundation. The means by which one tends toward the production of a new life take on an essential human significance inseparable from the desired end and susceptible of causing grave harm to this very end if these means are not conformable to reality and to the laws inscribed in the nature of beings.

We have been asked to give some directives on this point also. On the subject of the experiments in artificial human fecundation “in vitro,” let it suffice for Us to observe that they must be rejected as immoral and absolutely illicit. With regard to the various moral problems which are posed by artificial fecundation, in the ordinary meaning of the expression, or “artificial insemination,” We have already expressed Our thought in a discourse addressed to physicians on September 29, 1949 (_Discorsi e Radiomessaggi_, vol. xi. pp. 221 ff.). For the details We refer you to what We said then and We confine Ourself here to repeating the concluding judgment given there: “With regard to artificial fecundation, not only is there reason to be extremely reserved, but it must be absolutely rejected. In speaking thus, one is not necessarily forbidding the use of certain artificial means destined solely to facilitate the natural act or to achieve the attainment of the natural act normally performed.” But since artificial fecundation is being more and more widely used, and in order to correct some erroneous opinions which are being spread concerning what We have taught, We have the following to add:

Artificial fecundation exceeds the limits of the right which spouses have acquired by the matrimonial contract, namely, that of fully exercising their natural sexual capacity in the natural accomplishment of the marital act. The contract in question does not confer on them a right to artificial fecundation, for such a right is not in any way expressed in the right to the natural conjugal act and cannot be deduced from it. Still less can one derive it from the right to the “child,” the primary “end” of marriage. The matrimonial contract does not give this right, because it has for its object not the “child,” but the “natural acts” which are capable of engendering a new life and are destined to this end. It must likewise be said that artificial fecundation violates the natural law and is contrary to justice and morality [1] (_Marriage and Parenthood_, May 19, 1956). See _The Pope Speaks_, Vol, III, No. 2, Autumn of 1956, pp. 194 ff.

[1] The Holy Father here spoke for several minutes in Latin as follows:

Alia nunc occurrit quaestio, ad quam pertractandam magis addecet latinam linguam adhibere.

Quemadmodum rationalis animus noster artificiali inseminationi adversatur, ita eadem ethica ratio, a qua agendi normo sumenda est, pariter vetat, quominus humanum semen, peritorum examini subiciendum, masturbatiouis ope procuretur.

Hanc agendi rationem attigimus Nostra quoque allocutione coram Urologiae doctoribus coetum participantibus, die VIII mensis Octobris anno MDCCCCLIII prolata, in qua haec habuimus, verba: “Du reste le St-Office a decide deja le 2 aout 1929 (_Acta Ap. Sedis_, vol. XXI a. 1929, p. 490, II) qu’une “‘masturbatio directe procurata ut obtineatur sperma’ n’est pas licite, ceci quel que soit le but de l’examen” (_Discorsi e Radiomessaggi_ vol. XV, pag. 378). Cum vero Nobis allatum sit, pravam huiusmodi consuetudinem pluribus in locis invalescere, opportunum ducimus nunc etiam, quae tunc monuimus, commemorare atque iterum inculcare.

Si actus huiusmodi ad explendam libidinem ponantur, eos vel ipse naturalis hominis sensus sua sponte respuit, ac multo magis mentis iudicium, quotiescumque rem mature recteque considerat. Iidem actus tamen tunc quoque respuendi sunt, cum graves rationes eos a culpa eximere videntur, uti sunt: remedia iis praestanda qui nimia nervorum intentione vel abnormibus animi spasmis laborant; medicis peragenda, ope microscopii, spermatis inspectio, quod venerei vel alius generis morbi bacteriis infectum sit; diversarum partium examen, ex quibus semen ordinarie constat, ut vitalium spermatis elementorum praesentia, numerus, quantitus, forma, vis, habitus aliaque id genus dignoscuntur.

Eiusmodi procuratio humani seminis, per masturbationem effecta, ad nihil aliud directe spectat, nisi ad naturalem in homine generandi facultatem plene exercendam; quod quidem plenum exercitium, extra conjugalem copulam peractum, secum fert directum et indebite usurpatum eiusdem facultatis usum. In hoc eiusmodi indebito facultatis usu proprie sita est intrinseca regulae morum violatio. Haudquaquam enim homo ius ullum exercendi facultatem sexualem iam inde habet, quod facultatem eandem a natura recepit. Homini nempe (secus ac in ceteris animantibus rationis expertibus contingit) ius et potestas utendi atque exercendi eandem facultatem tantummodo in nuptiis valide initis tribuitut, atque in iure matrimoniali continetur, quod ipsis nuptiis traditur et acceptatur. Inde elucet hominem, ob solam hanc causam quod facultatem sexualem a natura recepit, non habere nisi potentiam et ius ad matrimonium ineundum. Hoc ius tamen, ad objectum et ambitum quod attinet, naturae lege, non hominum voluntate discribitur; vi huius legis naturae, homini non competit ius et potestas ad plenum facultatis sexualis exercitium, directe intentum, nisi cum coniugalem copulam exercet ad normam a natura ipsa imperatam atque definitam. Extra hunc naturalem actum, ne in ipso quidem matrimonio ius datur ad sexuali hac facultate plene fruendum. Hi sunt limites, quibus ius, de quo diximus, eiusque exercitium a natura circumscribuntur. Ex eo quod plenum sexualis facultatis exercitium hoc absolute copulae coniugalis limite circumscribitur, eadem facultas intrinsece apta efficitur ad plenum matrimonii naturalem finem assequendum (qui non modo est generatio, sed etiam prolis educatio), atque eius exercitum cum dicto fine colligatur. Quae cum ita sint, masturbatio omnino est extra memoratam pleni facultatis sexualis exercitii naturalem habilitatem, ideoque etiam extra eius colligationem cum fine a natura ordinato; quamobrem eadem omni iuris titulo caret atque naturae et ethices legibus contraria est, etiamsi inservire intendat utilitati per se iustae nec improbandae.

Quae hactenus dicta sunt de intrinseca malitia cuiuslibet pleni usus potentiae generandi extra naturalem coniugalem copulam, valent eodem modo cum agitur de matrimonio iunctis vel de matrimonio solutis, sive plenum exercitium apparatus genitalis fit a viro sive a muliere, sive ab utraque parte simul agente; sive fit tactibus manualibus sive coniugalis copulae interruptione; haec enim semper est actus naturae contrarius atque intrinsece malus.

2620. Contraception.--Contraception in all its forms (onanism, condonism, vaginal irrigation, spermatocide) is a grave crime.

(a) It is an Injury to God.--Marriage was instituted by God to propagate the human race (Gen., i. 27, 28) and to bless homes with children (Ps., cxxvi, cxxvii), and He has made it a sacred institution and a Sacrament. Contraception defeats the ends of marriage and degrades it to the level of a mere instrument of carnal gratification. The hatred of God for this sin appears in general from the horror with which Scripture speaks of unnatural lust, and in particular from the case of Onan, whose sin is called detestable and whom God slew in punishment (Gen., xxxviii. 10).

(b) It is an Injury to Society.--The perpetuation of the human race is endangered as soon as marriage is abused as to its natural end. Hence, after the crime of homicide which destroys human life already in existence, contraception seems to rank next in enormity, since it prevents human life from coming into existence. This vice spreads moral degeneracy and decay from the home itself, and is rightly called race-suicide, since it depopulates and destroys the nation by the act of its own people.

(c) It is an Injury to the Family.--The happiness and success of the home depend chiefly on the respect which its members have one for the other and on the cultivation of the sturdy virtues that strengthen character. The husband and wife who practise onanism or other similar carnal vices cannot have the mutual respect they should have; the wife is deprived of the treasure of her modesty and is treated as a prostitute rather than as an honored wife and mother, and the husband is brutalized by the removal of the natural restraint to his sex passion. Such self-indulgent persons will either selfishly neglect the one or two children they may have, or will spoil them for life by the luxury and laziness in which they are reared.

(d) It is an Injury to the Individual.--As concerns the body, there is a perversion of the sex act from its definite use and specific end, and hence contraception has been described as “reciprocal masturbation.” As regards the soul, its higher goods of will and intellect are subordinated by the contraceptionist to the delight of passion, the lower impulses are greatly strengthened and self-control made more and more difficult, and the spiritual objectives that should prompt a rational creature are sacrificed for the passing gratification that moves the beasts.