“…the only way for divorced Catholics to receive communion is by practicing strict sexual abstinence, “continence through the strength of grace.”

An excerpt from a commentary on Pope Francis found in The New Yorker, October 2015. Who made the comment is less important than what is said. Granted, some people choose to wait for marriage to lose their virginity based on religious beliefs. However, stretching that requirement to presumably adults,  requiring strict sexual abstinence, once divorced, is akin to asking for continual penance for the deed of leaving one’s legal partner. We all make mistakes or perhaps end up in less than desirable or dangerous situations, but this shouldn’t be cause for forced sexual prudity.

Ask some men, and I have, and they will tell you women they meet seem unable to fully release themselves sexually. As if holding back their sexual side, they are retaining some pureness despite having sex outside of marriage. Even for those not religiously inclined, the societal implications of being free sexually are worse than being considered prudish. To become aware of one’s own sexuality and express it without repression is to risk being called a slut. Men are praised for their promiscuous ways while women are still looked upon less favorably for having multiple sex partners. The double standard alive and well.