Vatican defends monogamy against polygamy, polyamory A new Vatican document defends marriage as a monogamous relationship amid the growing popularity of polyamory and addresses the pastoral challenges caused by conversion to Catholicism of people in polygamous situations. \u201cOne Flesh: In Praise of Monogamy\u201d was published in Italian by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on Nov. 25. \u201cPolygamy, adultery, or polyamory are based on the illusion that the intensity of the relationship can be found in the succession of partners,\u201d the Vatican says. To illustrate this metaphorically, the text cites the myth of Don Juan, an unbridled seducer whose womanizing leads him to hell, which demonstrates that \u201cmultiplying partners in a supposed total union means fragmenting the meaning of marital love.\u201d The text also draws on the writing of poets Walt Whitman, Pablo Neruda, Rabindranath Tagore, and Emily Dickinson, as well as philosophers such as the Danish philosopher S\u00f8ren Kierkegaard. The document, signed by Pope Leo XIV, does not address the indissolubility of marriage or the purpose of procreation but focuses on the unitive aspect of marriage: \u201cA communion of love and life shared by both spouses, a communion that is not oriented solely toward procreation but also toward the integral good of both.\u201d The text originated from a request made during the Synod on Synodality for African bishops to prepare a statement on polygamy. African bishops themselves asked the Holy See for guidance on the issue, the doctrine dicastery said earlier this month. In the Nov. 25 document, the dicastery says it also wanted to provide a deeper reflection on monogamy in the face of growing \u201cpublic forms of nonmonogamous unions \u2014 sometimes called \u2018polyamory\u2019\u201d \u2014 in the West. The Vatican\u2019s doctrinal note emphasizes that \u201cproperly understood, monogamy is not simply the opposite of polygamy.\u201d Drawing from the teachings of St. John Paul II, the Vatican affirms that \u201conly monogamy guarantees that sexuality develops within a framework of recognizing the other as a subject with whom one shares one\u2019s life entirely, a subject who is an end in himself and never a means to one\u2019s own needs. Sexual union, which involves the whole person, can treat the other as a person, that is, as a co-subject of love and not an object of use, only if it develops within the framework of a unique and exclusive belonging.\u201d \u201cThose who give themselves fully and completely to the other can only be two,\u201d the text states, after noting that in nonmonogamous relationships everyone \u201cwould be treated as means and not as persons.\u201d Sexuality: Total and open to life The text makes it clear that placing sexuality within the framework of a love that \u201cunites spouses in a single friendship\u201d does not imply a \u201cdevaluation of sexual pleasure.\u201d Rather, \u201cby orienting it toward self-giving, it is not only enriched but also enhanced.\u201d Thus, \u201csexuality is no longer the release of an immediate need but a personal choice that expresses the totality of the person.\u201d The Vatican criticizes contemporary culture that reduces sexuality to consumption: \u201cVarious problems have arisen from an excessive and uncontrolled pursuit of sex, or from the simple denial of its procreative purpose.\u201d Therefore, the Vatican defends openness to life in sexual union as a form of expression of \u201cconjugal charity\u201d without requiring that every act explicitly have that purpose. On an anthropological level, the document insists that \u201cthe defense of monogamy is also a defense of the dignity of women,\u201d since \u201cthe unity of marriage implies, therefore, a free choice on the part of the woman, who has the right to demand exclusive reciprocity.\u201d The document also addresses sexual violence, which it says proliferates on social media, and invites Catholics to provide education on \u201cfaithful and monogamous love.\u201d \u201cEducation in monogamy is not a moral restriction but rather an initiation into the grandeur of a love that transcends immediacy,\u201d it says. Theological foundations and spiritual tradition The text offers a broad overview of the Christian tradition that has upheld and reflected upon marital unity. It quotes popes and Church fathers, including St. John Chrysostom, who saw in marital unity an antidote to \u201cunbridled sexual abandon, without love or fidelity.\u201d Citing the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the text also considers the challenges for those who, desiring to convert to the Catholic faith, must navigate complex family situations. In addition to Africa, the document cites Asia, specifically India, where \u201cmonogamy has generally been the norm and has been considered an ideal in married life,\u201d but polygamous relationships have also been present. Africa\u2019s Catholic bishops issued a document earlier this year with six pastoral guidelines for how to welcome people in polygamous situations into the Church, both while upholding Church teaching on marriage and not leaving women and children vulnerable to abandonment and poverty. At the Aug. 4 assembly of the Symposium of Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) in Kigali, Rwanda, Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Cameroon\u2019s Bamenda Catholic Archdiocese clarified that during the deliberations at the Synod on Synodality, \u201cpolygamy was not brought up as an African concept to be approved. It was brought up as a challenge to Christian marriage in Africa.\u201d This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA\u2019s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA. Hannah Brockhaus contributed to this report. Receive the most important news from EWTN Vatican via WhatsApp. It has become increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channel today EWTN Vatican on WhatsApp Victoria Cardiel Would you like to receive the latest updates on the Pope and the Vatican Receive articles and updates from our EWTN Newsletter. 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