To All Clergy, Religious, and Faithful in Christ,
Beloved Brethren,
Grace and peace to you in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who calls us to holiness of life and purity of heart.
In an age marked by confusion concerning the meaning and purpose of human sexuality, the Church must once again speak in a plain language, with compassion and courage. The Christian vocation to chastity and purity is sanctification. It is the divine ordering of our desires according to the truth revealed in creation and fulfilled in Christ. To live chastely is to recognise that love and life belong first to God, and that the human body is not a vessel of indulgence, but a temple of the Holy Spirit, made for holiness and honour.
From the beginning, the Bible reveals that “God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them” (Genesis 1:27). In this sacred design, the complementarity of man and woman is not accidental, but intentional. It expresses the creative love of God and reflects the mystery of His covenantal faithfulness. Therefore, the sexual union of husband and wife, within the indissoluble bond of marriage, is a participation in divine love—a holy covenant through which life may be brought forth and charity perfected.
The misuse of sexuality, whether through fornication, adultery, pornography, or any act that distorts the meaning of love, stands in opposition to the order established by God. Such sins wound the soul, degrade the dignity of the person, and obscure the image of Christ within us. Chastity, by contrast, is the guardian of true freedom. It does not repress love, but refines it, teaching the heart to love with self-giving rather than possession, with fidelity rather than impulse, and with reverence rather than indulgence.
For the unmarried, chastity calls one to self-control and purity of heart. For the married, it requires mutual faithfulness, tenderness, and respect. For those in consecrated life, it becomes a sign of total devotion to God, mirroring the love of Christ for His Church. In all states of life, chastity is the fruit of grace, cultivated through prayer, discipline, and the Sacraments. It is not weakness but strength, not deprivation but liberty, for it orders our passions according to love’s true purpose.
We lament that modern society has degraded sexuality to a commodity and reduced love to sentiment or pleasure. The Christian must resist this corruption and bear witness that love’s truest form is sacrificial. To exploit another’s body, to desecrate one’s own through impurity, or to treat human intimacy as a fleeting amusement is to reject the holiness for which we were created. The faithful must therefore guard their hearts, speak modestly, act honourably, and remember that the eye, the ear, and the imagination are gateways either to virtue or to sin.
Parents and teachers bear a sacred duty to instruct the young in purity, not with fear or shame, but with the light of truth and the warmth of love. Let every Christian household be a place where virtue is esteemed, modesty is honoured, and every member learns to respect the mystery of life and the dignity of the body. Let clergy and religious speak boldly yet gently on this matter, guiding souls with patience, understanding, and hope.
To all who have fallen, the Church proclaims mercy. Through repentance and the healing grace of God, the soul can be restored, the body sanctified, and the heart made pure again. The Redeemer who forgave the woman caught in adultery still says, “Go, and sin no more” (John 8:11), offering to all the possibility of renewal.
May the Holy Spirit strengthen every believer to live as a vessel of holiness, to love in purity, and to see in every human body—not an object for desire—but a living icon of God’s creative and redemptive love. May chastity, far from being a burden, become a path to joy, integrity, and divine intimacy.
Given this day under my hand and seal, at Nashville, Tennessee, this 10th day of October, in the Year of Our Lord 2025.
+ Mar Mattai