Ha, Onan! You'll get a
brighter halo for being a good boy (or girl, or whatever). 
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Replying to:
re: I don't think masturbation is regarded as a mortal sin.
Do you mean to tell me, after all these years, that ... ?
DAMN!
Oh well, 
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Replying to:
The degree of sinfulness is generally related to the degree
of harmfulness brought about by violating a norm or principle.
Eating when you're not hungry isn't as likely to disrupt one or
another's life as much as adultery or stealing, for example. Murder
obviously violates such a principle and is a grave evil. Artificial
contraception is hardly on the same order of disruption to the
divine or natural law, if it's a disruption at all.
I don't
think masturbation is regarded as a mortal sin. Of course, there are
alls kinds of experiences of masturbation and all sorts of contexts
in which it takes place so that must be considered.
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Replying to:
It seems like openness to life and unitive goals for a
relationship are good values. There are lots of good values. What
makes meeting this or that value discovered in natural law very
serious or not so serious. Even if one shares these values, what
reasons are given by the Church to make attaining some values more
important than others? For example, it seems like the natural law
would reveal that eating is for nourishment and drinking is to stay
hydrated. Why isn't it evil to eat when one is not really hungry or
in need of food? Why isn't it perverted and sinful to drink when one
isn't thirsty? Why are murder and masturbation both grave matters?
Why is birth control a mortal sin and not a venial sin? Seriously.
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Replying to:
Questions were asked below about these topics, and, presumably,
why the Church condemns them.
In the case of homosexual sex,
it's obvious that this cannot ever meet the criteria for openness to
life, not in any act, nor in the relationship as a whole. Same goes
for masturbation, which doesn't even satisfy any unitive aspect, but
is entirely self-focused.
Note that the Catechism of the
Catholic Church recognizes that masturbation needs to be considered
in the context of one's development, and psychological state.
Other questions?
Comments?
