Dear Mr. Santorum-

Read your Catechism.

You’ve stated that only procreative sex is acceptable- within a marriage of course. While I do know that The Church is anti- artificial birth control, some couples actually do have the luxury of regular cycles and using the rhythm method to boink like mad without popping out kids every eleven months. Some of us, though, we don’t. And some of us had difficult pregnancies, health issues, or were so old and feeble that our eggs would probably be cracked in half before a sperm even hit them. Some of us love our partners and are happy without children, for many reasons. Yes, even married people. While I do understand that The Catholic Church views no marriage as valid unless it takes place within The Church, it’s not up to you to make that judgment.

Says so in The Bible.

I was confirmed when I was 13. I’m 40. Twenty-seven years? Yeah, I had to Google the specifics, but-

The Catechism of The Catholic Church states-

III. THE LOVE OF HUSBAND AND WIFE

2360 Sexuality is ordered to the conjugal love of man and woman. In marriage the physical intimacy of the spouses becomes a sign and pledge of spiritual communion. Marriage bonds between baptized persons are sanctified by the sacrament.

2361 ”Sexuality, by means of which man and woman give themselves to one another through the acts which are proper and exclusive to spouses, is not something simply biological, but concerns the innermost being of the human person as such. It is realized in a truly human way only if it is an integral part of the love by which a man and woman commit themselves totally to one another until death.”¹⁴³

 

Tobias got out of bed and said to Sarah, “Sister, get up, and let us pray and implore our Lord that he grant us mercy and safety.” So she got up, and they began to pray and implore that they might be kept safe. Tobias began by saying, “Blessed are you, O God of our fathers. . . . You made Adam, and for him you made his wife Eve as a helper and support. From the two of them the race of mankind has sprung. You said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; let us make a helper for him like himself.’ I now am taking this kinswoman of mine, not because of lust, but with sincerity. Grant that she and I may find mercy and that we may grow old together.” And they both said, “Amen, Amen.” Then they went to sleep for the night.¹⁴⁴

2362 ”The acts in marriage by which the intimate and chaste union of the spouses takes place are noble and honorable; the truly human performance of these acts fosters the self-giving they signify and enriches the spouses in joy and gratitude.”¹⁴⁵ Sexuality is a source of joy and pleasure:

 

The Creator himself . . . established that in the [generative] function, spouses should experience pleasure and enjoyment of body and spirit. Therefore, the spouses do nothing evil in seeking this pleasure and enjoyment. They accept what the Creator has intended for them. At the same time, spouses should know how to keep themselves within the limits of just moderation.¹⁴⁶

2363 The spouses’ union achieves the twofold end of marriage: the good of the spouses themselves and the transmission of life. These two meanings or values of marriage cannot be separated without altering the couple’s spiritual life and compromising the goods of marriage and the future of the family.

The conjugal love of man and woman thus stands under the twofold obligation of fidelity and fecundity.

Just a reminder. In case you’ve forgotten. You’re older than I am. Yes, The Church does want everyone to be populating like crazy, but maybe, just MAYBE, this Just God you kneel to is more concerned with the health and happiness of those that are already here?

Maybe.