By OKHUELEIGBE OSEMHANTIE ÃMOS

The Holy See on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, released a sweeping doctrinal document titled “Una Caro”, a comprehensive 157-paragraph text that reasserts the Catholic Church’s theological, pastoral, and anthropological understanding of monogamous marriage. Published by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the 38,000-word document is already being described within the Curia as “one of the most substantial magisterial reflections on marriage in decades.”

Presenting the text at a press briefing, officials of the dicastery emphasized that “Una Caro” is addressed “to the entire People of God and to all who seek to understand the human vocation to exclusive and reciprocal love.” The document, they noted, arose from years of consultation across continents and aims to respond to “cultural transitions, technological shifts, and new anthropologies that challenge the meaning of permanent union.”

In its opening section, the document confronts contemporary pressures directly, warning against what it calls “the illusions of fragmented affections” and the rise of relationships “lacking the grammar of total commitment.” The text states unambiguously: “Monogamy is not a mere negation of polygamy; it is a luminous yes to the dignity of a shared life, a covenant woven in freedom and responsibility.”

Quoting Christ’s own words, the document repeatedly cites the Gospel mandate: “What God has joined together, let no one separate.” According to the dicastery, this line is not presented as a moral prohibition alone but as a theological window into the nature of divine love. “In every authentic matrimonial covenant,” “Una Caro” says, “there glows the mystery of God’s faithful self-gift.”

The heart of the text is structured around seven thematic inquiries: the biblical foundations of monogamy, its historical development within Christian tradition, the philosophical grounding of exclusivity, the pastoral challenges faced today, and the implications of digital culture, mobility, and global individualism. One section states plainly: “The Church recognizes the struggles of our era, yet she remains convinced that no technological innovation can rewrite the human thirst for exclusive, enduring communion.”

Throughout the document, the Vatican underscores that monogamy is not only a spiritual ideal but a human good with social consequences. “A society that forgets the beauty of exclusive belonging,” the text warns, “risks losing the very grammar of fidelity, tenderness, and generational responsibility.”

Officials also highlighted the document’s pastoral dimension, calling it “a resource for priests, educators, married couples, and those preparing for the sacrament.” The dicastery writes: “The Church does not impose a model from above but illuminates a path that countless families have walked with courage, sacrifice, and joy.”

One notable passage affirms: “Marriage is not merely a contract; it is a covenant that mirrors God’s irrevocable love. It demands the daily choice to belong, to forgive, to endure, and to hope.””

In concluding sections, “Una Caro” appeals for a “renewed culture of covenant love,” urging believers to rediscover marriage as a “school of humanity” and “a sanctuary where the face of God’s tenderness becomes visible.” It adds: “Monogamy is not a relic of the past. It is a prophetic gift for our wounded world.”

The release of “Una Caro” comes at a moment when nations across the globe are revisiting their legal and anthropological definitions of marriage. Vatican officials said the document seeks not merely to reiterate doctrine but to “offer a hopeful, luminous vision of love rooted in divine truth.”

As one senior official summarized at the briefing, “This text is not a nostalgia for yesterday. It is an invitation for today, an invitation to believe again in the beauty of a love that does not end.”

• Fr. Okhueleigbe Osemhantie Amos, PhD, is of the Catholic Institute of West Africa (CIWA), Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

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