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One of the commonest complaints against Catholicism is that it is the religion of “no,” especially in regard to the sexual dimension of life.
As the rest of the culture is moving in a progressively more permissive direction, the Church seems to represent a crabbed, puritanical negativity toward sexuality.
Different kinds of ‘no’
I think it is important, first, to make a distinction between two modalities of “no.” On the one hand, there is “no” pure and simple — a denial, a negation of something good.
When a jealous person sees someone else’s success, he will say “no” to it out of resentment. When a racist perceives the object of his irrational hatred, he will say “no” to him and try to undermine him.But on the other hand, there is a “no” which is in service of a “yes,” since it represents a “no” to a “no”; it is a double negative that constitutes a positive.
Any golf swing coach worth his salt will say “no” much more than he says “yes,” because there are a thousand ways to swing a club poorly, but really only one way to swing it properly. So when he says “no,” he is negating a series of negatives, trying to move his student onto the narrow path of the right swing.
I would suggest that the many “no’s” that the Church says to imperfect forms of sexual behavior are of this second type.
What, according to the mind of the Church, is the correct or proper expression of sexuality? To provide an answer, it would be wise to consult a curious passage in the 12th chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans.
Offering sacrifice
The Apostle to the Gentiles writes: “Think of God’s mercy . . . and worship him . . . in a way that is worthy of thinking beings, by offering your living bodies as a holy sacrifice, truly pleasing to God” (Rom. 12:1).
Sacrifice was central to ancient Israelite religion. A Jew would bring an unblemished animal to the temple in Jerusalem and would offer it to God as a token of gratitude, worship, or penance. In doing so, he would align himself to God, bringing his mind, his will, his very body into right relationship with the Lord.
Radical love
In Jesus Christ, the face of the true God appeared, precisely as a face of love: “God is love and anyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in him” (1 John 4:16). To sacrifice to God is to become conformed to the love that God is; it is to become love.
Paul is telling the Romans (and us) to turn our bodies — our whole selves — into an act of worship of the true God, which is simply another way of saying that we should allow every aspect of our lives to become radical love.
Church’s ‘yes’ to sexuality
Now we can understand the great “yes” of the Church in regard to sexuality. Sex is meant to be completely attuned to love, to self-gift. Sex is designed to be a vehicle by which the good of the other is sought and attained. When sex devolves into something less than an expression of love, the Church resolutely says “no!”
And so it says “no” to rape, to sexual abuse, to the sexual manipulation of another. But it also says “no” to sexual expression outside the context of that mutual and radical self-gift that we call marriage. It says “no” to a deliberate and conscious frustration of the procreative dimension of sex.
In all of these “no’s,” the Church is fundamentally saying “yes” to sex as a path of love. Many balk at this, arguing that while rape and sexual violence should always be condemned, other forms of sexual expression should be left to the discretion of the individual.
Holding us to high ideals
Would we settle for leniency and mediocrity in any other area of life that we take seriously? For example, someone dedicated to having an excellent golf swing will expect his teacher to press forward, righting minor errors, fine-tuning his swing until he reaches real proficiency. He would not want his coach to say, “Well, now that you’ve overcome the major problems, just swing any way you want.”
So the Church, which desires to bring human sexuality into full conformity with the love that God is, corrects us, cajoles us, encourages us, holds us up to high ideals, and invites us into the challenging adventure of sexual virtue.
Do we often fail? Sure — just as we usually fail to hit the golf ball excellently. Does that mean that the Church should dial down its ideals? Absolutely not. Its “no’s” are so strong, because its “yes” is so ringing.
Fr. Robert Barron is the founder of the global ministry, Word on Fire, and is the rector/president of Mundelein Seminary near Chicago. Learn more at www.WordOnFire.org