The Vatican has issued a firm warning against what it describes as the growing acceptance of polyamory, reiterating the Catholic Church’s long-standing position that marriage is a stable, lifelong, and exclusive union between one man and one woman.
The new doctrinal document, titled “One Flesh – In Praise of Monogamy,” was approved by Pope Leo XIV and released by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. It was written in response to what the Vatican calls an increasing trend of “various public forms of non-monogamous unions, sometimes called ‘polyamory,’” particularly in Western societies.
Spanning 40 pages, the document addresses both polyamory—defined as engaging in multiple consensual romantic relationships at the same time—and polygamy, which the church says continues to present “pastoral challenges,” especially among Catholic communities in parts of Africa.
The Vatican insists that relationships lacking exclusivity rest on what it terms a mistaken belief. “Polygamy, adultery, or polyamory are based on the illusion that the intensity of the relationship can be found in a succession of faces,” the document states. It also warns that contemporary culture is experiencing “various drifts with regard to love: an increase in divorces, the fragility of unions, the trivialization of adultery, and the promotion of polyamory.”
Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the doctrine office, said the note was intended to clearly outline the Church’s reasoning in upholding “the choice of a unique and exclusive union of love, a rich and total belonging to one another.”
Beyond defending monogamy, the document introduces an important emphasis in the Church’s articulation of marital intimacy. It reaffirms that sexual relations within marriage serve two purposes in Catholic teaching: the “unitive” dimension, which deepens the couple’s bond and reflects divine love, and the “procreative” dimension, which involves openness to having children.
The Vatican stresses that unity is the foundational property of marriage and clarifies that the unitive purpose of marital intimacy “is not limited to ensuring procreation.” This renewed focus on unity, however, is presented alongside the Church’s ongoing prohibition of artificial contraception.
The document marks one of the strongest recent interventions by the Vatican on debates surrounding modern relationship structures, reaffirming monogamous marriage as an indispensable element of Catholic doctrine.