Sexuality and the Catholic Church

By Rev. Dr. Richard E. Kuykendall

Sexuality and the Catholic Church is a book that deals with the unique approach the Catholic Church takes towards human sexuality. From celibate priests and nuns, to consecrated virgins, to the ultimate Virgin--Mary, who is said to be a perpetually virgin, even though she gave birth to Jesus--to not allowing contraceptives for its members, and its refusal to ordain women as priests, or allow priests to marry. And much more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Sep 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9781698712826

Rev. Dr. Richard E. Kuykendall

Rev. Dr. Richard E. Kuykendall holds both a Master of Divintiy degree, and a Doctor of Ministry degree in Creation Spirituality. He served as a minister for over 35 years, and has led his Creation Spirituality Community, Spiritwind, for over twenty years. Kuykendall is also the author of fifteen books, including: The Dream Life of Jesus, Liturgies of the Earth, and The Way of the Earth.

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Copyright 2022 Rev. Dr. Richard E. Kuykendall.

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Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, King James Version. Cambridge Edition:

1769; King James Bible Online, 2018. www.kingjamesbibleonline.org.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982

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Scripture quotations are taken from the New Life Version, copyright © 1969 and 2003. Used

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In deep gratitude for my teacher, Mother Nature,

who operates according to natural laws,

and who was God’s first revelation

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Natural Law?

History

Scripture vs Scripture + Tradition

Sexuality and Church Law

A Short Alphabet of Sexual Acts and Issues

Mary, Goddess in Training?

Summaries

The Beginning of The End? Journals

Concluding Scientific Postscript

Bibliography

Endnotes

Foreword

O ther than our own unspoken thoughts, our sexual lives are probably the most personal and intimate part of our lives. The reason why a book like this is so important, is because, it is when the Church tries to make our choices for us concerning our sexuality—when its priests and bishops only see sex as negative behavior, because of lust and lasciviousness which ends in all sorts of acts of animal passions, the reigning patriarchy mandates what its members must do at the price of acceptance or rejection, and even in some cases, excommunication. In this context, virgins are held in high regards, like unto the vestal virgins of Roman times. And chaste nuns live lives of exalted purity because of their lack of lust and sexual stains, and being cloistered away from the polluting influences of the world. Priests couldn’t possibly marry because it could entail performing sexual acts with their spouses, which for them would be mortal sin. And women in general, whether chaste or not, even when having theological education which is superior to a man (e.g. Rosemary Radford Reuther) and liturgical training as well, are rejected as priests. So suffice it to be said, the author sees a problem in how priests and women are dealt with in the Church.

Secondly, there is the paradoxical problem of being anti-abortion or pro-life, while not allowing contraceptives. How has the Church been able to live with itself after dictating in totalitarian fashion that married coupes cannot use contraceptives to avoid becoming pregnant, when they do not want to. And what happens if they do??? Of these, some, or even many, will have an abortion for an unwanted child.

Thirdly, is the Church’s unrealistic stand on divorce. In a country where nearly one in every two marriages end in divorce, it seems unrealistic to think that prospective new members have never been divorced. And then, there is the tedious process of having one’s marriage annulled so that one can say, I’ve never been married. One can then move into the Church like a virgin, kissed for the very first time.

Fourthly, If the Samaritan woman at the well, could have been married five times and currently was living with someone, and Jesus could simply forgive her with out an annulment, why can’t a priest just absolve one of their marriage or divorce—if not, it makes divorce the only real unpardonable sin. One can be condemned to never take the sacrament.

One last point, in the Introduction, Kuykendall says something about the size of Catholicism in relationship to all of Protestantism and the other World Religions. I must add that the Vatican State is the smallest country in the world, yet is number eighteen of the wealthiest countries per capita—no one knows the exact amount of what they have in gross assets. But this country grants its citizens religious freedom when its own members do not have the same freedom. Note what Pope Francis said about religious freedom:

May no one use religion as a pretext for actions against human dignity and against the fundamental rights of every man and woman, above all to the right to life and the right of everyone to religious freedom,

(September 21, 2014)¹

But what the members have is spiritual totalitarianism and coercion—either you believe ALL the teachings (as Kuykendall found out) or you are in danger of excommunication—as a number of those who Kuykendall had studied with found out the hard way.

Copenhagen, Denmark

June 2022

INTRODUCTION

Catholic: of or relating to the Roman Catholic Church.

The word catholic comes from the Greek word

katholikos meaning Universal

Introduction

T he Catholic Church makes up one half of the largest religion in the world. It claims some 1.2 billion members, it makes up 50% of all Christians, and makes up 16% of the total population of the world.

More than this, the Catholic Church has some 415,000 + priests and over 10,000 saints—and they keep on coming!

In this book we will be looking at many of the Catholic beliefs. But Catholics don’t see these things as mere beliefs; the Church enjoins every believer to abide by their pronouncements on these topics. For example: the Church’s positions on masturbation and oral sex—(Yes, they do have pronouncements on these things, plus much more!). Not to go into it now (but we will later), these are not just said to be immoral acts according to some kind of sexual moral code, they are based on theological and philosophical ideas that Catholic theologians and philosophers claim to be according to, Natural Law. The problem, as we shall see, is that what Catholic theologians and philosophers hold to be Natural Law is sometimes very different from what social and physical scientists ² hold to be Natural Law.

In this book we will be looking at such doctrines and practices as Original Sin and the Adoration of Mary. We will also look at celibacy, marriage, and chastity. And we shall also consider a number of sexual sins, and evaluate them by what the Catholic Church holds to be true; versus what contemporary social and physical scientists hold to be true.

This book is not about me, but the Catholic Church and its views towards sexuality, and some other things. However, I think it is fair to say that the reader should know where I’m coming from in all of this.