Human Sexuality: An All-Embracing Gift

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Summary: Human Sexuality: An All-Embracing Gift
Review: In this book the author discusses the contemporary issues that face the ethics of human sexuality. In recent times, many questions have been raised about human sexuality. These questions demand a clear moral answer. The author has successfully done this in the book beginning by looking at the scientific, historical and psychological background of each topic and using the scriptures, the moral teachings of the Church to answer them. He does this in nine chapters.

In the first and second chapters, he describes sexuality as a gift from God which we need to accept and rejoice over. The main purpose of this gift is love. It is not just physical but also profoundly psychological and spiritual. He refers to Pope John Paul II symbolic use of sex as the language of the body and argues that sexuality is essential both to our becoming fully human and to our human becoming. Thus, our authentic humanness must be found in relationships, and to be fully human, sexuality must have the elements of sensuality and tenderness. The task therefore of the human person is to integrate sensuality and tenderness into a truly human conversation.

In chapter three through four, he discusses the question of birth control and the different methods used. He extensively uses the teachings of Humanae Vitae to affirm that contraceptives are morally evil. The conjugal act is unitive and procreative in meaning, and the use of contraceptives prevents the procreative meaning of conjugal act. He however advances the Billings method of family Planning arguing that it is personalist and integralist.

Chapters five, six and seven discusses homosexuality, non-marital sex and masturbation. He argues that homosexual activity as distinguished from homosexual orientation is unnatural and thereby morally wrong. He however mentions that homosexuals should not suffer prejudice against their basic life, but the Church should minister with love to them. He condemns all forms of sex outside of marriage in that, sex finds it true meaning within marriage. He argues that without the commitment of marriage, genital relationship loses its communicative character by disengaging itself from the persons of the lovers, and reduces into mere genital contact and surface sensations. For masturbation, he says it is neither procreative nor unitive in any interpersonal sense, so it is not morally right.

In chapters eight and nine, he discusses the respect for human life and the church's respond to HIV/AIDS. He argues that life is sacred from the very moment of conception and uses this position to show that abortion is morally evil. He also argues that it is morally wrong to use condoms as a protection against HIV/AIDS.

The author made logical and consistent arguments throughout the book. He supports his thesis with authoritative facts drawn from the scriptures, Church teachings, and reputable authors. The major weakness with his book is the repetition of facts gathered from different sources. He also tends to repeat himself most times. He made pastoral suggestions only in the case of masturbation and non for other chapters.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who desires to know more about human sexuality and most especially to all students of pastoral programs.

Bekeh Utietiang
Catholic University of America
Washington, DC.