The Sexual Revolution and Catholic Social Teaching

by CAPP-USA

What is the Sexual Revolution?

The sexual revolution began in the 1960’s as part of a feminist movement to liberate women from traditional domestic and clerical roles and advance their positions of power in business and politics.

It sought to “empower” women by separating sex from pro-creation and marriage. This was made possible by the advent of the birth control pill. The Food and Drug Administration approved the first oral contraceptive in 1960. Within 2 years 1.2 million American women were “on the pill”.

Feminists claimed the sexual revolution would bring women out of the shadows of men’s status, desires and abuses, and make society freer overall. 

The actual result was very different as the sexual revolution proved an, “egregious event…on a scale unprecedented in history.” (Pope Benedict XVI)

Why? As Pope St. Paul VI warned, “The most extraordinary scientific progress, the most astounding technical feats…unless accompanied by authentic moral and social progress, will in the long run go against man.” (Visit to FAO, 4) 

The Consequences of the Sexual Revolution

In amazing foresight Pope St. Paul VI anticipated (Humanae Vitae) the pathologies that would emerge from contraception and the sexual revolution, predicting it would not only impact individual morality but would also negatively reshape societal values and relationships.

He predicted:

Increased Marital Infidelity and Moral Decline: Pope St. Paul VI warned that widespread use of contraception could weaken the moral fabric of society, particularly around marriage by making it easier for people to justify extramarital affairs and other behaviors that undermine marital commitment and fidelity.

Loss of Respect for Women: He feared that, if sex could be separated from procreation, there was a risk that women would be objectified, reduced to mere instruments for sexual satisfaction, rather than being valued as equal partners in marriage.

Abuse of Power by Public Authorities: He expressed concerns about the potential for governments and authorities to misuse contraceptive methods to control populations. He foresaw the risk of governments enforcing family planning policies that might infringe upon personal freedoms and ethical principles, especially in vulnerable communities.

Moral Relativism and Loss of Self-Control: The pope also predicted that, if artificial contraception became the norm, it might erode people’s sense of moral absolutes, leading to a more relativistic approach to ethics and a decline in self-discipline. He argued that such a shift could weaken people’s ability to make sacrifices for the common good and undermine society’s commitment to enduring moral principles.

And what was revolutionary in the 1960s is ubiquitous today. The damage caused by “all-out sexual freedom” has been immense, even engendering “a propensity for violence” with pedophilia being “diagnosed as allowed and appropriate.” (Pope Benedict XVI)

Promiscuity skyrocketed, divorce was sanctioned, marriage rates fell, abortion laws were repealed, and homosexuality became mainstream, the family went into crisis.

The hookup culture of today, marked by casual sex, infidelity, and a vehement defense of the so-called ‘right’ to terminate pregnancies, stem from the sexual revolution’s rejection of natural law, the family and marriage, and ultimately, God Himself.

“[D]oubt or error in the field of marriage or the family involves obscuring to a serious extent the integral truth about the human person”. (Pope St. John Paul II, 31)

“[T]he family is placed at the center of the great struggle between good and evil, between life and death, between love and all that is opposed to love”. (Pope St. John Paul II, 23)

Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis have only increased the call for the primacy of the family. “[M]arriage and the family are rooted in the inmost nucleus of the truth about man and his destiny.” (Pope Benedict XVI)

The family is “the fundamental cell of society”. (Evangelii Gaudium, 66)

The Consequences of the Sexual Revolution in the Family

“[W]e were assured…when God does die in a society, it becomes free. In reality, the death of God in a society also means the end of freedom”. (Pope Benedict XVI)

The sexual revolution held up a standard of freedom divorced from truth and human purpose (which is no freedom at all).

It urged society to “do whatever you want”. Rather than liberating anyone or improving human relationships and connection, it “weakens the development and stability of personal relationships and distorts family bonds.” (Pope Francis, 67)

The family is “the fundamental cell of society”. (Evangelii Gaudium, 66) “[T]he family is placed at the center of the great struggle between good and evil, between life and death, between love and all that is opposed to love”. (Pope St. John Paul II, 23)

“[D]oubt or error in the field of marriage or the family involves obscuring to a serious extent the integral truth about the human person”. (Pope St. John Paul II, 31)

Response to the Sexual Revolution? The Family

“[T]he family…is the foundation of society.” (Gaudium et Spes, 52) It is the answer to the human crisis of our time. “[M]arriage and the family are rooted in the inmost nucleus of the truth about man and his destiny.” (Pope Benedict XVI)

The societal pathologies unleashed by the sexual revolution (domestic abuse, abortion, contraception, divorce, promiscuity, rampant and casual pre-marital sex, etc.) can all be addressed by the “the family” which “constitutes…a community of love and solidarity”. (Preamble, E., Charter of the Rights of the Family)

“Family relations contribute decisively to the sound building of human society”. (Synod Report to Pope Francis, 50)

The family is the image of God who “in his deepest mystery is not all by himself, but a family, since he has in himself fatherhood, sonship and the essence of the family, which is love”. (Pope St. John Paul II)

What Can I Do?

“Christians…should actively promote the values of marriage and the family, both by the examples of their own lives and by cooperation with other men of good will.” (Gaudium et Spes, 52)

We must “hold up to future generations the beauty of marriage and the family, and the fact that these institutions correspond to the deepest needs and dignity of the person.” (Pope Benedict XVI, 44) 

Our culture cannot have a healthy attitude toward sex, morality, and human relationship without God as its foundation. “It is urgent therefore to promote not only family policies, but also those social policies which have the family as their principle object”. (Pope St. John Paul II, 49)