Sex and the Catholic Church

According to the law in Colonial Mexico, sex was to be consensual, unadventurous, and only done for the purposes of procreation. Sure, being consensual is important but use of the term “unadventurous” and limiting its purpose to procreation, gave rise to the possibility of all sorts of “sexual sins” that many people seemed perfectly at liberty to violate. There were seven basic manifestations of these sins, that if one were caught participating in could then be prosecuted and punished. The Catholic Church supposedly was the tool of social control in colonial Mexico, according to Lavrin’s article, “Sexuality in Colonial Mexico: A Church Dilemma,” but the church’s ability to impose social controls especially concerning  sexuality comes into question based on the large number of illegitimate children and numerous court cases involving  what the church had deemed “sexual sins.” 

The strict morality code was vamped up in response to “humanists, freethinkers, and protestants,” in the Council of Trent, but the trouble lay in the cultural and societal norms that already existed, that, and the reality that it was difficult to catch and then subsequently prove that people had been involved in sexual sins. The Church’s difficult task was in resolving the seemingly large discrepancy between the rules and code of behavior given on acceptable sexual practices and the actual conduct of people. The task was given to the priests and local bishops who used confessionals as a main tool in learning about the people’s “sins” and then, in theory at least, the priest would guide them toward a more holy lifestyle. Once again however, in reality the priests themselves did not heed the constraints and control their behavior.

Despite the strict moral codes, that were basically ignored by many people until it served their purposes there are a surprising number of court cases involving sexual sins that were punished by jail sentences and fines depending on the severity of the crime. It seemed anyone could file a case with the court whether it be a husband who believes his wife is participating in an adulterous affair or an Indian woman accusing a man of rape. The court took each case and investigated with equal fervor, in order to find out the truth and punish the offender. The court cases themselves often demonstrated the lack of attention given to the church’s strict definition of sexual purity. It was more likely that a person would be punished or brought to court because an opposing party felt hurt, betrayed, or knew they might get something out of it than any moral obligation.