Assessing Kenyan Catholics’ Understanding of Human Sexuality on the Basis of Individuals Associated with Shalom Center in Mitunguu: A Theological-Pastoral Perspective

Abstract

The aim of the article is to discuss the understanding of human sexuality evinced by a group of Kenyan Catholics from the methodological perspective of pastoral theology, pointing out certain conclusions and pastoral suggestions. The article comprises the following parts: theological-normative, sociological, and theological-postulating. The first synthetically presents human sexuality from the point of view of the teaching of the Catholic Church, the second discusses methodology and results of the conducted empirical research, while the third presents conclusions and suggestions for pastoral care of families. The research results show that the majority of respondents shared Catholic convictions on sexuality. However, less than half of the respondents believed that love of a man and a woman serves to transmit life to children and that true love of a man and woman requires an indissoluble marriage. A quite high percentage of respondents did not agree that sexual intercourse aims to forge a psychological and spiritual bond between the partners. Women more rarely than men shared Catholic convictions on human sexuality and more rarely than men believed that a human being should not be used as if he/she was an object. This may show women’s lack of access to education as well as a strong impact of local traditional cultural models on their understanding of the role of women. These results point to some missionary-pastoral challenges, especially as regards education of youth, spouses, and spouses-to-be, as well as that of clergy, catechists, and lay employees of family ministry.