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by Edward J. Bayer (Author)
The Holy Father's teaching seeks to make clear that, without a fundamental mutual respect and devotion, any sexual act between a husband and wife is a counterfeit of the real thing. Such an evil act is not what the Lord of Life wants human beings to contribute to the creation of a new life. A woman who has no way to escape such abuse is morally justified in resorting to effective, non-abortifacient but medically effective means to avoid being impregnated.
Author Biography
Father Edward Bayer worked as a parish priest of the Archdiocese of Baltimore for some twenty-five years. In 1982 he obtained a Doctorate in Theology from the Angelicum University in Rome. For five years afterwards he wrote over 50 articles, co-edited two books on life and sexual issues, and lectured for the Pope John Center (now called The National Catholic Bioethics Center). For four years after that, he taught moral theology at the Pontifical College Josephinum, a seminary directly under the jurisdiction of the Holy Father. After ten more years of parish work, he retired in order to teach at a recently established seminary in New Britain, Papua New Guinea. His work on how we are morally obliged to deal with the sexual abuse of women by irresponsible, unloving husbands is based on the theology of the body promoted by Pope John Paul II.
