Abstract

This book by a distinguished Roman Catholic marital counsellor and senior consultant at the Central Middlesex Hospital, and the former Anglican Bishop of Birmingham, who was also Chairman of the Church of England's Board for Social Responsibility, arose out of the Margaret Harris lectures given in Dundee in 1988. It is probably the first time that a Roman Catholic and an Anglican have joined forces in this way, and the result is an important contribution to the discussion of sexual ethics today. After an introduction to sexual ethics, Hugh Montefiore contributes chapters on homosexuality, and abortion and infra vitro fertilization; Jack Dominian writes on masturbation and pre-marital sexual intercourse, and marriage and marital breakdown. Both speak as loyal and committed members of their respective churches, but believe that this loyalty and commitment requires them to look again at some of the human dilemmas experienced in these intimate questions of love and sex, sometimes leading them to conclusions which differ from the official teaching of their churches.