Date of Award
7-1983
Document Type
Dissertation - Restricted
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Theology
First Advisor
Dennis J. Doherty
Second Advisor
Daniel Maguire
Third Advisor
Paul Misner
Fourth Advisor
Robert A. Wild
Fifth Advisor
Dean R. Fowler
Abstract
In pre-Vatican II moral manuals of Catholic theology sexuality was viewed as essentially procreative. All sexual behavior was judged good or bad in relationship to this procreative dimension. The unitive aspect of sexuality was all but ignored. Vatican II was the turning point in Catholic moral thought on sexuality when it abandoned the traditional ranking of the ends of marriage. As a result, sexual morality was no longer centered solely on the procreative aspect. The aspect of the love which exists between spouses received equal emphasis. In the documents, Gaudium et Spes and Humanae Vitae, the papal magisterium insists on the fruitful aspect of human love, but not to the exclusion of the interpersonal dimension of human sexuality.
...