A new document, approved by the Pope, declares that an exclusive bond between one man and one woman cannot be equated with a ‘succession of faces’.
The Vatican has issued a caution to Catholics concerning polygamy, reaffirming that authentic marriage constitutes a lifelong, exclusive bond between one man and one woman.
A new doctrinal note, endorsing monogamy and signed by Pope Leo XIV, was released on Tuesday. In it, the Vatican dismissed both polygamy and polyamory, stating that these arrangements are founded on “the illusion that the intensity of the relationship can be found in the succession of faces.”
The document observed that “various public forms of non-monogamous unions – occasionally referred to as ‘polyamory’ – are increasing in the West.” It contended that every authentic marriage represents a union of two individuals “of exactly the same dignity and the same rights,” thus necessitating exclusivity.
It characterized both polyamory and polygamy as fundamentally incompatible with the principles of equal dignity and mutual belonging, which the Catholic Church deems vital for marriage.
The Vatican indicated that the note addresses pastoral concerns brought forth by church leaders, particularly from African regions where polygamous marriages are prevalent. In recent years, African bishops, both at Vatican assemblies and during official engagements, have highlighted the continued prevalence of polygamy among Catholics and sought explicit guidance from Rome.
Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez explained that the document’s purpose was not merely to critique polygamy but to “praise the value of monogamy,” emphasizing its theological, philosophical, and historical underpinnings.
”Those who genuinely love understand that the other individual cannot serve as a means to an end, and that one’s own inner emptiness must be addressed through different avenues, never by dominating the spouse,” he remarked. “This outcome is observed in numerous forms of unhealthy desire that give rise to expressions of overt or subtle violence, oppression, psychological strain, control, suffocation, frequently accompanied by infidelity.”
Fernandez had previously authored one of the most disputed documents of Pope Francis’ pontificate: a 2023 declaration authorizing Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples. That decision elicited an unprecedented reaction from African bishops, who collectively released a statement declining to enact it.
The recently issued decree does not delve into other contentious matters like same-sex relationships or divorce. Instead, it concentrates exclusively on reaffirming lifelong monogamy as the sole permissible structure for marriage within Catholic Church doctrine.