Have you heard of Casti Connubii?

We've all heard of Humanae Vitae, but how many of us know the history of the Church's teaching on birth control? How many of us know, for instance, that Pope Pius XI wrote a much longer, more detailed encyclical on Christian marriage and morality called Casti Connubii in 1930? You can read that encyclical here.

What you'll find as you read this encyclical, which is part of the ordinary magesterium of the Catholic Church is that the Holy Father Pope Pius XI not only condemns emerging immoral behaviour outside of marriage, but he discusses the nature of chastity amongst married people. Note that, contrary to the current idea that the unitive and procreative aspects of marriage are on equal footing, the teaching is that the procreative aspect is the primary aspect, while the unitive aspect is the secondary aspect. The teaching is that marriage is for the propagation of the species, while the unitive life of the spouses is a secondary aspect. Perhaps it is this shift in focus on marriage that opened the door to the perversions and mockeries of marriage in the 21st Century.

I will summarize with some extended quotes from this encyclical:

"Since, therefore, the conjugal act is destined primarily by nature for the begetting of children, those who in exercising it deliberately frustrate its natural power and purpose sin against nature and commit a deed which is shameful and intrinsically vicious."

"Since, therefore, openly departing from the uninterrupted Christian tradition some recently have judged it possible solemnly to declare another doctrine regarding this question, the Catholic Church, to whom God has entrusted the defense of the integrity and purity of morals, standing erect in the midst of the moral ruin which surrounds her, in order that she may preserve the chastity of the nuptial union from being defiled by this foul stain, raises her voice in token of her divine ambassadorship and through Our mouth proclaims anew: any use whatsoever of matrimony exercised in such a way that the act is deliberately frustrated in its natural power to generate life is an offense against the law of God and of nature, and those who indulge in such are branded with the guilt of a grave sin."

"No difficulty can arise that justifies the putting aside of the law of God which forbids all acts intrinsically evil. There is no possible circumstance in which husband and wife cannot, strengthened by the grace of God, fulfill faithfully their duties and preserve in wedlock their chastity unspotted. This truth of Christian Faith is expressed by the teaching of the Council of Trent. 'Let no one be so rash as to assert that which the Fathers of the Council have placed under anathema, namely, that there are precepts of God impossible for the just to observe. God does not ask the impossible, but by His commands, instructs you to do what you are able, to pray for what you are not able that He may help you.'"

"Nor are those considered as acting against nature who in the married state use their right in the proper manner although on account of natural reasons either of time or of certain defects, new life cannot be brought forth. For in matrimony as well as in the use of the matrimonial rights there are also secondary ends, such as mutual aid, the cultivating of mutual love, and the quieting of concupiscence which husband and wife are not forbidden to consider so long as they are subordinated to the primary end and so long as the intrinsic nature of the act is preserved. "

He goes one to condemn abortion in the subsequent paragraphs, for these issues have always been closely linked: "Those who hold the reins of government should not forget that it is the duty of public authority by appropriate laws and sanctions to defend the lives of the innocent, and this all the more so since those whose lives are endangered and assailed cannot defend themselves. Among whom we must mention in the first place infants hidden in the mother's womb. And if the public magistrates not only do not defend them, but by their laws and ordinances betray them to death at the hands of doctors or of others, let them remember that God is the Judge and Avenger of innocent blood which cried from earth to Heaven."

I suggest you read this encyclical.