Pope Benedict XVI warned in his first encyclical Wednesday that sex without unconditional love risked turning men and women into merchandise.
In the 71-page document "God is Love," Benedict explored the relationship between the erotic love between man and woman, referred to by the term "eros," and the Greek word for the unconditional, self- giving love, "agape" (pronounced AH-gah-pay).
He said the two concepts are most unified in marriage between man and woman, in which a covetous love grows into the self-giving love of the other, as well as God's unconditional love for mankind.
He acknowledged that Christianity in the past has been criticized "as having been opposed to the body," _ the erotic form of love _ "and it is quite true that tendencies of this sort have always existed."
But he says the current way of exalting bodily love is deceptive. "Eros, reduced to pure 'sex' has become a commodity, a mere 'thing' to be bought and sold, or rather, man himself has become a commodity."
"Here we are actually dealing with a debasement of the human body: no longer is it integrated into our overall existential freedom; no longer is it a vital expression of our whole being, but it is more or less relegated to the purely biological sphere," he said.
Benedict explored the two aspects of love to then explain how the Roman Catholic Church's charitable activities are based on love and are a fundamental part of its mission. He said the church had no desire to govern states, but at the same time couldn't remain silent in political life because its charity is needed to ease suffering.
AP
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