The Vatican has issued a new doctrinal note presenting monogamous marriage as a gift rooted in human dignity and divine grace, released only a month after the dicastery’s reflection on Marian titles drew international reaction.
The fresh document, Una Caro. In Praise of Monogamy, was approved by Pope Leo XIV on 21 November and published on 25 November by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. It describes marriage as an “exclusive union and mutual belonging,” insisting that such unity is neither a cultural leftover nor a moral burden but a reality that “opens to eternity.”
Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the dicastery, introduces the text by citing three pressing concerns: the global technological environment that encourages individuals to imagine themselves “without limits,” the need to correct widespread assumptions about African cultures, and the growing popularity in the West of what the document calls “public forms of non-monogamous unions.”
In each case, the note argues that the Church must restate the beauty and significance of the Christian understanding of marriage in a society increasingly unsure of permanence, self-restraint or fidelity.
The document begins by stating that only two people can make a complete and personal gift of themselves to one another. Anything else becomes, in its words, “a partial gift of self that fails to respect the dignity of the partner.”
The unity of marriage, it says, mirrors the union of Christ and the Church and cannot be replicated through alternative forms of relationship. Rather than presenting monogamy as a restriction, the note describes it as “the possibility of a love that opens to eternity,” a path made possible “with the help of grace.”
A major theme of the text is “mutual belonging,” understood not as possession but as free consent that mirrors the life of the Trinity. This belonging, it says, becomes “a powerful motivation for the stability of the union,” forming “the belonging of the heart, where only God sees.” Yet the note warns strongly against any misinterpretation that could lead to domination or coercion.
It condemns “various manifestations of explicit or subtle violence, oppression, psychological pressure, control, and ultimately suffocation,” calling such behaviour “a lack of respect and reverence for the dignity of the other.”
From this perspective, the note insists that “marriage is not a possession.” A healthy relationship, it explains, embodies “the reciprocity of two freedoms that are never violated.” Spouses should be able to recognise moments when one needs space or solitude without interpreting this as a threat.
At the same time, excessive distance can place the relationship at risk, leaving the “we two” exposed “to its possible eclipse.” The document stresses that even in these circumstances, attentive dialogue is capable of restoring and strengthening the bond.
The note sees prayer as essential to sustaining unity, describing it as “a precious means” by which couples “sanctify themselves and grow in love.” This leads to the flowering of conjugal charity, presented as “a uniting power, affective, faithful, and total.”
Such charity forms “the greatest friendship,” a closeness in which spouses feel “at home in each other,” able to mature not only together but as individuals.
In keeping with this tone, the document treats sexuality as something received “in body and soul,” a “marvellous gift from God” ordered to be self-giving.
It reaffirms that marriage does not lose its essential character “even if it is childless,” and notes that respect for natural periods of infertility is entirely legitimate. Fertility, it suggests, is an expression of openness to life but not the sole purpose of every marital act.
A more sober reflection follows on the challenges presented by contemporary culture. The document speaks urgently of “the universe of social networks, where modesty fades and symbolic and sexual violence proliferates,” arguing that young people require a renewed formation in love.
Monogamy, it insists, is not “archaism” or “moral constraint” but “an initiation into the grandeur of a love that transcends immediacy.” The note calls for “a new pedagogy” capable of presenting love as a responsible and hopeful commitment between two persons.
Alongside this personal and spiritual dimension, the document highlights the social responsibility of married couples. It warns against “selfishness, self-absorption, and inbreeding,” urging spouses to take up joint projects that “do something beautiful for the community and the world.” It repeats the words of Leo XIV, who said that the poor are “a family matter” for Christians rather than merely “a social problem.”
In its conclusion, the document restates that “every authentic marriage is a unity composed of two individuals” and that such unity “cannot be shared with others.” This unity, it notes, is the foundation for indissolubility; fidelity becomes possible only when the couple continually chooses and renews its communion, allowing love to grow into what the document calls a “promise of infinity.”
The final pages trace this vision through Scripture, the Fathers, the major magisterial texts of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the writings of modern popes from Paul VI to Francis and Leo XIV.
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