From Catholic sexual ethics to biology to foreplay to positions, our articles are a reference point for all your Catholic sexual queries.
Articles
Some Moral Dangers to Avoid When Using Marital Aids
While marital aids can sometimes help couples deepen intimacy and overcome physical challenges, they also carry subtle moral risks if not used rightly. As with any good in marriage, intention and moderation matter.
Mixed-Orientation Catholic Marriages: Navigating Homosexual or Bisexual Attraction with Faith and Intimacy
Catholic couples sometimes face the reality of mixed-orientation marriage. Far from invalid or hopeless, these marriages can be holy, intimate, and fulfilling. Discover what the Church truly teaches and how couples can grow in faith and love.
Why You Will Benefit From a Catholic Pelvic Health Coach
Discover how Catholic pelvic health coaching integrates faith, virtue, and body awareness to strengthen your marriage and honor your God-given design.
Is Vaginismus Grounds for an Annulment? A Response to a Reader
Can vaginismus be grounds for annulment in a Catholic marriage? A canon law explanation responding to a reader's question about impotence, marital consummation, and Church teaching.
Are All Sexual Sins in Marriage Mortal Sins?
Are all sexual sins between spouses mortal? This article explains Catholic teaching, the difference between grave and venial sins, and the path to holiness in marriage.
Is it Sinful for Catholics to Initiate Sex for Pleasure
Catholic couples often wonder: is it wrong to desire sexual pleasure in marriage? This article explores Church teaching, the dangers of hedonism and scrupulosity, and how pleasure when rightly ordered deepens spousal communion and holiness.
Is All Sexual Pleasure Immoral Outside Sexual Intercourse: Refuting a Common Objection
Is all sexual pleasure outside intercourse immoral according to Catholic teaching? This article refutes the common objection that any genital stimulation outside the marital act is intrinsically disordered by clarifying the crucial distinction between complete and incomplete sexual acts. Drawing on Pius XII, St. Alphonsus Liguori, and traditional moral theology, discover how spouses can legitimately express intimacy without violating Church teaching.
Are Sexual Fantasies Permissible in Marriage?
Are sexual fantasies permissible in Catholic marriage? Discover the nuanced moral guidance on whether spouses can enjoy sexual fantasies within the bounds of Catholic teaching. Learn how sexual thoughts about one's spouse, when grounded in real intimacy and free from sin, can be a healthy part of married life, according to Church doctrine and moral theology.
Prayer Intentions
This page invites readers to share their prayer intentions and join in praying for one another, trusting in the intercession of Our Lady and our patrons, Saints Louis and Zélie Martin. The team commits to daily prayer for all intentions and regularly offers the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for them. Visitors are encouraged to post their own needs, pray for others, and find comfort in a community united in faith.
Should You Marry Your Best Friend? Thomas Aquinas Says Yes!
Should you marry your best friend? According to St. Thomas Aquinas, true marriage is more than a legal or biological union—it's the highest form of friendship. Rooted in both natural law and divine grace, this conjugal friendship is what sustains a marriage through time, making friendship not optional, but essential to love that endures.
Can Catholic Spouses Practice “Karezza” Method of Sexual Intercourse?
Is amplexus reservatus (the “karezza method”) moral for Catholic couples? This article explores Catholic theology, magisterial teaching, and moralist debates on whether deliberately stopping short of orgasm in the marital act is a sin or permissible form of intimacy.
Defining Intimacy: Aquinas, Psychology, and the Fourfold Intimacy Model
Intimacy is often reduced to sex or feelings, but marriage demands something deeper. Drawing on Aristotle, Aquinas, and modern psychology, James Walther explains the Fourfold Intimacy Model — spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and physical — showing how true intimacy is an interpersonal state of secure vulnerability that engages the whole person.
Letter to Our Readers: Moving Forward
Thanks to your generosity, we reached our $2,500 monthly goal on August 25th—just in time to keep CatholicIntimacy.org publishing weekly articles and videos, and developing new resources for couples. With a streamlined team and a fresh Squarespace site, our focus is on sustaining $2,500 each month so creation can continue without interruption. Every prayer, share, and donation—whether $10/month or a one-time gift—helps lay the foundation for a Catholic renewal in marital intimacy.
Urgent Appeal
CatholicIntimacy.org is in urgent need of support.
After moving to a new website platform on June 1, 2025, our SEO rankings collapsed cutting off nearly all new client inquiries and slashing daily visitors. For two months, expenses have been covered entirely by Megan’s therapy income, but we can’t sustain that.
We believe this ministry is worth saving which is why we formed the Apostolate for Marital Intimacy as a nonprofit. By August 25, 2025, our third anniversary, we must raise $2,500 to keep serving couples and the Church.
Can Catholic Spouses Use “Dirty Talk” in the Bedroom?
Can Catholic spouses use “dirty talk” during sex without sin? This article explores the moral theology behind vulgar language in the bedroom, drawing on Scripture, St. Thomas Aquinas, and traditional Catholic teaching. It offers guidance to married couples seeking clarity on what’s permissible in private intimacy while avoiding scrupulosity.
Oral Foreplay in Catholic Marriage: A Practical and Respectful Guide
Oral foreplay, when practiced within marriage as preparation for intercourse, can deepen emotional connection and enhance mutual pleasure while remaining faithful to Catholic teaching. This article offers practical tips, addresses common challenges such as discomfort or scrupulosity, and recommends supportive tools.
Can Catholic Spouses Read Smut?
The effects of pornography linger long after exposure ends, even when addiction is overcome. For Catholic couples, this presents profound challenges in approaching marital intimacy while healing from these wounds. This article thoughtfully examines the question "Can Catholic spouses be each other's porn?"
Is Foreplay Sinful if the Husband Struggles with Premature Ejaculation?
An all too common issue plaguing many husbands – and one that we have discussed many times on this site – is premature ejaculation. While we have addressed this issue as it relates to performing the marital act itself, we wanted to address a moral dilemma about premature ejaculation that can easily come up in the area of marital foreplay which precedes the marital act. And that is, to what extent does the condition of premature ejaculation impact which acts of foreplay, if any, can licitly be done to lead up to the marital act?
Why Does My Wife Avoid Sex?: A Catholic Husband’s Guide to Understanding, Compassion, and Growth
For many Catholic husbands, it can be confusing and painful when their wife seems to avoid sexual intimacy. You may feel rejected, unwanted, or even tempted to withdraw in frustration. But before assuming the worst, it’s worth stepping back and asking a more loving question: What’s going on in her heart and body that I may not fully understand?
How to Talk with Your Spouse About Sex: A Catholic Approach to Honest Conversations
Talking about sex with your spouse doesn’t have to be uncomfortable—it can actually draw you closer. This article offers practical tips for starting honest, respectful conversations about intimacy in Catholic marriage. It also introduces our updated Yes, No, Maybe guide to help couples explore their desires and boundaries with clarity and confidence.