Diarmuid O’Murchu, priest/psychologist and author of Quantum Theology, said our view of sexuality has been shifting massively since the 1950s from the biological to the archetypal. We went from seeing sex as biology and bodies to viewing it as archetypal energy, and from seeing it as performance to viewing it as psycho-sexual growth. We now understand that our development as sexual beings is a life-long process. He defined sexuality as “the overflow of our feelings, moods and emotions, activated and mediated through the psychic energy of human interaction.” It is not just genital. And “there is no such thing as an asexual human being. Sexuality is essential to being human.”
The body/spirit split so prevalent in Catholic thought can be traced to the
Greek philosophers’ cerebral metaphysical approach based on bad biology.
The Church's rationale for celibacy stems from Greek philosophy’s desire
to escape or transcend the corrupt body. Before the Greeks, the ancient art
of China and India show an exuberant sexuality. It shows that “our human
sexuality is about our capacity for creativity of which procreation is a part…
and a way to connect with the mystery of God.” When the creative and spiritual
essence of sexuality is not honored, frustrations arise that result in addictions
because we are being deprived of “meaningful mysticism.”
Androgyny: a healthy integration
O’Murchu said that androgyny, long seen as the ultimate deviation, may
not be a disorder of sexual identity, but can be a healthy integration of assertiveness
and nurturance. ”All those actually called to vocations of celibacy are
probably androgynes deep in their hearts.” He also wants to start thinking
of people not as gay or straight but as same-sex directed, other-sex directed,
or somewhere in between.
O'Murchu reminded us that marriage was not made a sacrament until 1565 at the
Council of Trent. “It was an attempt by the Church to exercise control
of people in their most intimate lives”. Now, fully one third of the Code
of Canon Law is addressed to the regulation of marriage.
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