Abstract

The article examines a proposal made to the German Bishops' Conference in March, 2019, by German theologian, Eberhard Schockenhoff on the way in which sexual ethics should be developed. Noting the damage done to the Church by the scandals of sexual abuse of minors by clerics, he detected a deeper source of the current lack of credibility of the magisterium's teachings on sexual morality. He considered that this stems from a failure to adopt a modern approach to revelation, from the deeply pessimistic theology of human sexuality, for which St. Augustine is to blame, which subsequent theologians and the magisterium have never succeeded in overcoming. From the modern human sciences, it is possible to recognise a variety of values in human sexuality, the fundamentally positive evaluation to be given to sexual impulse and desire, the variety of meanings inherent in human sexuality. Thus an ethical structure based on love of self, acceptance of other, agreeing on ways of satisfying desires, along with responsibility towards society, also in terms of children, would enable couples, married or not, heterosexual or homosexual, to agree on how to live their sexuality in a positive and joyful way, and on how to exercise their responsibility with respect to responsible parenthood and infertility, etc. The article offers a critical assessment of this proposal.