Vatican warns against rise in polyamory, saying ‘succession of faces’ does not rival exclusive union
By Christopher Lamb, CNN
Rome (CNN) — The Vatican has issued a warning against the rise of polyamory, insisting marriage is the stable, lifelong and exclusive partnership between a man and woman.
A new document defending monogamy, signed off by Pope Leo XIV, was written as “various public forms of non-monogamous unions – sometimes called ‘polyamory’ – are growing in the West,” the text said. It also followed discussions with Roman Catholic bishops in Africa about polygamy, which has been described as a “pastoral challenge” for the church in the region and was discussed by Vatican assemblies (synods) in 2023 and 2024.
Polygamy tends to refer to one man with multiple wives, while polyamory involves people having multiple consensual romantic relationships at once.
“Polygamy, adultery, or polyamory are based on the illusion that the intensity of the relationship can be found in a succession of faces,” states the doctrinal note, titled “One Flesh – In Praise of Monogamy.” “Our age, in fact, is experiencing various drifts with regard to love: an increase in divorces, the fragility of unions, the trivialization of adultery, and the promotion of polyamory.”
The 40-page document emphasizes the importance of marriage between man and a woman, with Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, the prefect of the Vatican’s doctrine office, saying it is aimed at setting out the reasons for “the choice of a unique and exclusive union of love, a rich and total belonging to one another.”
The note also says it is highlighting a development in the church’s understanding of sex within marriage: namely that is about more than having children.
In Catholic understanding, sex within marriage has two aspects: the “unitive,” which brings the couple closer together and can reflect divine love, and the “procreative,” meaning having children. Catholic teaching forbids the use of artificial contraception – a prohibition upheld by recent popes but which has been hotly debated and rejected by some in the church.
The latest doctrinal note says that “unity is the founding property” of marriage and that the “unitive purpose of sexuality… is not limited to ensuring procreation.”
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