Day 312: Polygamy, Incest, and Free Union

Incest designates intimate relations between relatives or in-laws within a degree that prohibits marriage between them. St. Paul stigmatizes this especially grave offense: "It is actually reported that there is immorality among you . . . for a man is living with his father's wife.... In the name of the Lord Jesus ... you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh...." [1 Cor 5:1-5] Incest corrupts family relationships and marks a regression toward animality. CCC 2388

Today's reading from the Catechism consists of a few paragraphs on polygamy, incest, and "free union," as well as an In Brief to close out the Sixth Commandment. First of all, eew. These are not subjects I enjoy reading about, particularly incest. That is indeed gravely sinful and completely incomprehensible to me. I have females in my family, a sister and cousins, as many do. Not once did I ever consider them to be anything more than beloved family members. Yet, some apparently do placing this distorted desire above the love of family. Incest can destroy families. Polygamy interferes with the bond between and husband and a wife, by introducing more wives into the mix. Finally, the so-called "free union" is a cop-out. Basically, marriage without the commitment, a "trial marriage" as it were. I'm reminded of the expression, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?" All of these are rightly considered immoral and gravely sinful. When children are involved in any of these, that's just downright evil.

The Catechism Companion Vol III has some good commentary on this:

[On polygamy] The Church has encountered many cultures over two thousand years. And when the Gospel meets people who are living in a way that is outside of the moral realm, the Gospel may not and cannot change. People need to change. We can apply this to any situation: when someone has built a life in contradiction to the Gospel, that person is called to move forward in a way that is in conformity with the Gospel and with justice. The Gospel does not change. We are called to make any sacrifice we need to make in order to belong to Jesus.

[On incest] Anyone who has been a victim of these evils is not a horrible person but is loved by God himself.

[On "free union"] "Trying" marriage by cohabitating is wrong. It tries every aspect of a commitment except the most critical one - its permanence. It tries every part of a marriage except the part that is hard... Things are meant to be used, while people are meant to be loved. A person is not meant to be tried out. (p. 140)