Definition of Terms

Conjugal Love – the love of the spouses found in the sacrament of matrimony. Conjugal love involves a totality, in
which all the elements of the person enter - appeal of the body and instinct, power of feeling and affectivity,
aspiration of the spirit and of will. It aims at a deeply personal unity, a unity that, beyond union in one flesh, leads
to forming one heart and soul; it demands indissolubility and faithfulness in definitive mutual giving; and it is open
to fertility. In a word it is a question of the normal characteristics of all natural conjugal love, but with a new
significance which not only purifies and strengthens them, but raises them to the extent of making them the
expression of specifically Christian values." – CCC 152

Mortal sin – is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate
consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God's law. It also implies a
consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart133 do not
diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin. CCC 1857-1859

Venial sin – committed in a less serious matter, or when one does not observe the standard prescribed by the
moral law, or when he disobeys the moral law in a grave matter, but without full knowledge or without complete
consent. Venial sin weakens charity; it manifests a disordered affection for created goods; it impedes the soul's
progress in the exercise of the virtues and the practice of the moral good; it merits temporal punishment.
Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin. However venial sin does not
break the covenant with God. With God's grace it is humanly reparable. "Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of
sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently eternal happiness.- CCC 1862 – 1863

Concupiscence - stems from the disobedience of the first sin. It unsettles man’s moral faculties and, without being
in itself an offence, inclines man to commit sins. St. John distinguishes three kinds of covetousness or
concupiscence: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life.301 In the Catholic catechetical tradition, the
ninth commandment forbids carnal concupiscence; the tenth forbids coveting another's goods. – CCC 2514- 2515

Necking - kissing, caressing, and other sexual activity between partners that does not involve
stimulation of the genitals or sexual intercourse.

Petting- any non-penetrative sex act involving stimulating another person's sex organs or breasts – usually with
your hand or mouth, and normally while kissing them.