In contrast to the popular view of human sexuality, the Catholic Church promotes an understanding that not only includes unique considerations on the ethical level but also appreciates the most profound aspects of sexuality. In this insightful study, Donald Asci shows how the Catholic concept of sexuality and sexual intercourse articulates the ethical norms by which these profound realities are preserved. The teachings of the Church open the path to a fulfillment that only the deepest aspects of sexuality can supply. Beyond the moral norms of the Church's sexual ethics lies a theology of sexuality that recalls what is at stake in the realm of sexual activity. Thus, the Church not only affirms marriage as the only morally acceptable context for sexual intercourse, but also develops a specific concept of the conjugal act for husband and wife. “Asci's study is a great help in showing the beauty of the Church's teaching on the truly personal character of the conjugal act as love-giving, life-giving, grace-giving and in providing the wider theological understanding of the human person, male and female, that serves as the context for this teaching.” —William E. May, Author, Marriage: The Rock on Which the Family is Built Paperback. Donald Asci received his Master of Sacred Theology from the John Paul II Institute on Marriage and the Family, and did his studies for a Doctorate in Sacred Theology at the Pontifical University in Rome.