Vatican Warns of Rising Polyamory, Reaffirms Monogamous Marriage in 40‑Page Doctrine

01:20 AM, 11/26/2025

The Vatican released a 40-page doctrinal note, One Flesh – In Praise of Monogamy, warning that polyamory and other non-monogamous arrangements are rising in parts of the West and represent a challenge to Catholic teaching. Approved by Pope Leo XIV and informed by synods in 2023–2024 and conversations with African bishops about polygamy, the note reaffirms monogamy as the normative marital form. It emphasizes marriage's "unitive" and "procreative" purposes and restates the Church's opposition to artificial contraception while acknowledging internal debate.

The Vatican has published a 40-page doctrinal note, One Flesh – In Praise of Monogamy, warning that forms of non-monogamous relationships—often called polyamory—are growing in parts of the West and pose a challenge to the Church’s teaching on marriage. The document was approved by Pope Leo XIV and draws on recent discussions with bishops, including conversations about polygamy in Africa held during synods in 2023 and 2024.

The note distinguishes polygamy—traditionally understood as one person having multiple spouses, often one man with several wives—from polyamory, which refers to people maintaining multiple consensual romantic relationships simultaneously. It frames both as diverging from the Church’s understanding of the marital bond.

"Polygamy, adultery, or polyamory are based on the illusion that the intensity of the relationship can be found in a succession of faces," the doctrinal text states, adding that contemporary society is experiencing "drifts with regard to love: an increase in divorces, the fragility of unions, the trivialization of adultery, and the promotion of polyamory."

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Vatican’s doctrine office, said the document aims to articulate why the Church upholds the choice of "a unique and exclusive union of love, a rich and total belonging to one another." The note emphasizes that unity is the foundational property of marriage and presents monogamy as the normative form of marital life for Catholics.

The document also clarifies a development in the Church’s teaching about sexual relations within marriage. Catholic theology traditionally identifies two complementary purposes of conjugal sexual activity: the unitive dimension, which fosters closeness and mutual self-giving, and the procreative dimension, which is openness to children. The note stresses that the unitive purpose is not limited to procreation.

While reaffirming the Church’s longstanding prohibition on artificial contraception—a position upheld by recent popes—the text acknowledges that this teaching has been debated and contested by some within the Church. The doctrinal note seeks to present a fuller rationale for monogamous marriage as both a sacramental and social good, responding to pastoral challenges worldwide.