I have always said that the pope and I have a silent agreement: I don’t tell him how to say Mass and he doesn’t tell me what may or may not occur in my bedroom. So far, the plan has worked well.  However, he continues to offer general pronouncements on the subject of sexual intimacy, irritating many Catholics.

So, just when you think the guys in Rome could not get any more ridiculous – they do. NY Times columnist Maureen Dowd tells readers about Sister of Mercy Margaret Farley, who wrote a book a few years ago. Seems the pope is a slow reader since it took him until now to react to Farley’s words - and censure them.

Dowd writes: “Sister Farley asserts that procreation is not the only reason couples should have sex. Fruitfulness need not ‘refer only to the conceiving of children,’ she writes. ‘It can refer to multiple forms of fruitfulness in love of others, care for others, making the world a better place for others’…”

Such nonsense to think that our sexual expression is for procreation only. If a person is infertile, does the Church then mandate celibacy? Of course not. Anyone who has enjoyed sexual passion in a loving relationship knows the truth: making love creates more love, through intimacy and trust. And that love yields joy -  and sometimes a child.

 The People of God know the truth. We know that our Creator God offers sexual passion as an authentically human experience, an experience that enriches our spirits as well as pleasing our bodies.  Pleasure is not a sin, it’s part of God’s plan for humanity.

It’s time the institutional church started listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit who speaks to all of us, even in our bedrooms.

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