POPE LEO HAS STATED MORE THAN ONCE THAT NATURAL LAW HAS GREAT IMPORTANCE FOR THE WORLD AND THE CHURCH

Natural law goes beyond just human sexuality and its purpose and meaning, but also has applications for a number of moral issues that the world faces, political and otherwise. 

But because of Jesuitical Father James Martin, SJ, gushed in a self-affirming way, about Pope Leo’s affirming meeting with him on Tuesday, 9/2, can Fr. Martin claim that Pope Leo does not accept or believe in natural law which supports and upholds what the Catholic Church teaches through Scripture and Tradition about the true nature of human sexuality? 

This is an AI summary of natural law concerning Catholic sexual morality:

AI Overview

Based on Catholic natural law, sexuality is a good and integral part of the human person, created by God for the twofold purpose of expressing marital love and procreating new life

. Moral judgments about sexuality are based on objective standards rooted in human nature and divine law, not individual preferences. 

Core principles

The twofold purpose of sex

The Catholic Church teaches that the sexual act has two inseparable purposes:

• Unitive: The physical intimacy of sex is a profound expression of the spiritual and emotional communion between a husband and wife.
• Procreative: The sexual act is ordered toward the begetting and education of children, allowing a couple to cooperate with God in creation. 

The importance of marriage

• The fullness of human sexuality is properly expressed only within the lifelong, covenantal bond of marriage between a man and a woman.
• Sexual acts outside of marriage, such as fornication and adultery, are considered morally wrong because they separate the unitive and procreative meanings of sex from their proper context. 

Chastity for all people

• Chastity is the virtue that successfully integrates sexuality within the person.
• Married couples are called to chaste sexual relations that honor the unitive and procreative meanings of the act.
• Unmarried individuals, including those with homosexual inclinations, are called to express chastity through sexual abstinence. 

Specific applications

Contraception

The Church considers artificial contraception to be intrinsically evil because it deliberately frustrates the procreative potential of the sexual act. This separates the unitive aspect of sex from the procreative one, which the Church believes harms the marital union and human nature. Natural Family Planning, which respects the body's natural rhythms, is viewed as a morally licit way to space births for just reasons. 

Homosexuality

• Homosexual acts are considered "intrinsically disordered" because they are contrary to natural law, are not open to procreation, and do not arise from a genuine complementarity between sexes. The Catechism asserts they "cannot be approved under any circumstances".
• The Church distinguishes between homosexual acts and a homosexual inclination, which is not considered a sin in itself. The Church calls for homosexual persons to be treated with "respect, compassion, and sensitivity" and for unjust discrimination against them to be avoided.
• Homosexual individuals are called to live a life of chastity, like all unmarried people. 

The purpose of these teachings

The Catholic Church frames these teachings not as arbitrary rules but as a guide for human flourishing. From this perspective, living in accordance with the natural law, as revealed through both reason and scripture, leads to authentic human happiness. Violating natural law, including in the area of sexuality, is seen as destructive to the human person and to society.