Chastity

Advice on sex for young, unmarried Catholics

Young Catholics find it difficult to go to elders for advice on private matters regarding sex. But that doesn't mean they don't need help. And unless they have a good priest to talk to - and one they feel comfortable with, which is a tall order for a youngster - they'll get no practical advice on how to behave with members of the opposite sex. That's why this pamphlet was written. Fr. Gerald Kelly, S.J., doesn't philosophize about sex here. He gives the fundamental Christian attitude and moral norms (as embodied in Catholic teaching), then he moves on to a host of questions unmarried Catholics pose. Examples:

• Kissing that leads to sin. What is permissible as a sign of affection, and what isn't.
• The difference between temptation and sin (often enough confused by scrupulous men and women).
• Preparing for a good Confession.
• Dating, and ways to make it easy on both parties, assuming they are sincere.
• Trying circumstances a young Catholic may find himself in - at a beach, at the movies -without warning. How to cope.

Fr. Kelly is frank and unambiguous. He wrote the pamphlet more than 40 years ago, and he holds none of the biases toward traditional moral theology that his latterday Jesuit colleagues harbor.

Quality softcover