Whereas (being happily married) I personally would never indulge in extra-marital affairs, I don't think anyone has the right to insist on celibacy and abstinence for young people until the moment they marry. It seems to me natural that they should want to experiment with sex, and that they should not be made to feel guilty or sinful if they do so. Apparently (and Joe may perhaps put me right on this) if a young married Catholic's spouse should leave them and obtain a divorce, he/she must remain celibate for the rest of their days, as in the eyes of the Church they are still married. As long as he/she stays 'chaste' they can receive the sacraments, but they can never again have sex or remarry. This is terribly cruel and to me unacceptable. The only other way (apparently) is for the marriage to be annulled, involving a long and involved investigation and many personal, intrusive questions. I had a very nice friend at Uni, a Catholic lass aged twenty, who came to me distraught because the priest had told her she was committing a sin by kissing 'passionately' her fiance. The pleasure they both gained was condemned and she was instructed merely to hold his hand and no more until after the wedding nearly a year ahead. I was first amused and incredulous, then angry and disgusted. I found this priest's attitude to be repressed and a bit sinister to be honest. Surely this is one of the things that the Pope should address. No-one has the right to condemn safe sex between normal healthy young folk and in modern times things need to be seen in a different light.