Obviously I wouldn’t expect anyone in our class to be surprised by the fact that the Roman Catholic Church has notoriety for a history of placing strict moral standards on the behavior of its members. However, I hope that I am not alone in thinking that, based on our readings, this practice got completely out of hand. The sheer amount of rules and expectations held by the church was absolutely ludicrous. Naturally, marriage was to be expected when setting basic guidelines for a Catholic person’s sex life. But the extent to which many other facets were monitored and controlled was simply outrageous.

Many basic principles that were held in early Spanish America regarding acceptable circumstances for wedlock are still practiced by an extensive number of modern Catholics (or at least that is what I understand as a non Catholic). Regardless it is reasonable that some Christian dictums of past eras are taught with far less emphasis. For instance, I personally find it absurd to measure sin in a multitude of very basic human actions that are largely uncontrollable. As the article by Larvin pointed out, it was considered a sinful act to enjoy the memory of a past “wet dream,” or even to enjoy it as it happened! The absurdity of finding sin in human thought also extended to a person’s sexual fantasies and desires. Frankly, I have always been under the impression that, as hard as we as human beings may try, we are basically incapable of deciding what comes to our heads as well as what we find pleasure and enjoyment in. Both of these were measured and judged in the eyes of the church. Whats more, the church systematically utilized the confessional as a tool to monitor such minor elements of behavior as a means of gathering intelligence and information.

It seems that the church practically mapped out the moral course of sexuality for all peoples by setting such a vast number of rules to be followed. Masturbation, for instance, was completely out of the question due to the fact that it was an unholy “waste of seed.” Sex within marriage also came with many moral stipulations and limitations. Couples were strictly forbidden to be “adventurous,” a rule which I find ridiculous because there is no real way of morally measuring that. Sodomy was forbidden, as was any kind of sexual behavior that was not a procreative form. Going back to the theme of crimes of thought, it was also considered sinful to think of anyone besides your spouse during intercourse. The metaphorical window of opportunity was pretty small for those intending to meet these moral quotas.