Study Guide: Cohabitation, Contraception, Marriage, and Annulment

1. Marriage 101: Skip the Trial Run

Def.

Cohabitation – living together; getting to know one another; preparing for marriage

Four red flags associated with Cohabitation

:1.There is nothing to show that cohabiting leads to a stronger marriage; can actuallymake divorce more likely2.It’s wrong to assume you learn how to have a good relationship by cohabiting3.The longer people live together without marriage, the more likely it is they will never marry.4.Cohabiting parents break up at a much higher rate than married parents.

Things to Consider

2. Catholic Update: Cohabitation

Events in United States leading up to couples cohabitating

the “greening of America with its antipathy towards institutions of any type

bitter debates over the Vietnam War

legalization of abortion

common acceptance & practice of contraceptives

introduction of explicit sexual scenes in films & television

common tolerance of cohabitation

growing mobility of our culture

delay of marriage due to graduate studies & the training for professions

accelerating rate of divorces

rapid pace of life in the United States

Reasons couples cohabit: convenience, economy, & discernment Consequences of cohabiting (Negative affects)

: higher risk of divorce, satisfactory adjustments inmarriage, harmful effect upon children

3. Contraception

Characteristics of Marriage as defined in the article

instituted by God

lifetime community of man and woman

both give themselves totally, definitively, and exclusively to one another as acommunity which reflects God’s love for his people

reflects love and fruitfulness

community of openness to life as well as a community of two persons’ love for oneanother

cannot be introverted anymore than the love and care of God are introverted

Issues couples need to consider when determining family size

their circumstances

their own material & psychological resources

responsibilities to their extended family, to society, & to the church

Differences between natural and artificial conception

Natural – having sex when the woman is infertileArtificial – placing something in the way of getting a woman pregnant

Why is natural conception permissible?

NFP is acceptable because it gives witness that both the marriage community and thegeneration of new life are God’s gift; it’s a sign of respect for God’s creative lordship.

Differences between objective evil and personal sin as connected to contraception

Objective evil – contraception is wrong in and of itself Personal sin – the people using contraception are not necessarily sinning

What things need to be considered when looking at ways to deal with world population?

- increasing standard of living reduces population growth, food is a problem of distributionrather than of absolute scarcity, solutions which do not respect human dignity are not answers(self-defeating)

Why is contraception a difficult reason and why is it still important?

Difficult because: economic and social situations in which many couples find themselvesare not conducive to having large families and often threaten the foundations of the familyrelationship; insights into human sexuality bring new problems and new questions; culture nowtells us in innumerable ways that regular sexual activity is absolutely necessary for human

happiness and that the postponement of satisfaction is unhealthy if not impossible; traditionalteachings of the church about married sexuality have been called into question to the point thatwhat used to be a source of security and clarity is now a source of confusion for many.Important because: paradigm of the twentieth-century debates concerning the nature of Catholic morality and the limits of Catholic teaching authority on moral issues.

Majority and Minority arguments of the papal commission of contraception

Majority:

minority fails to recognize the evolutionary character of that teaching

a change in the traditional would not necessarily undermine the moral teachingauthority of the Church

rejects the natural-law theory of those who support the traditional

conjugal act itself must be viewed not as an isolated reality but in the larger context of human love, family life, education, etc.Minority:

“constant and perennial” teaching of the Church

change in the traditional would undermine the moral teaching authority of the church

analysis of conjugal act itself, contraception changes an act which is naturallyoriented to procreation into an act which is oriented to the mutual benefit of bothspouses

What is Humanae Vitae? What are its major points? Is it infallible?

Humane Vitae: “Of Human Life,” Pope Paul VI’s encyclical on regulation of births(contraception, abortion, NFP, etc.)Major points: wants people to come back to the observance of the norms of the natural law andthat each and every marriage act must remain open to the transmission of life, unitive andprocreative parts, rhythm method, argues against contraceptionInfallible: NO

American and European reactions to the papal encyclical

American: “conscience is inviolable and no man is to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his conscience, as the moral tradition of the church attests,” priests must not be tooquick to assume