Natural Law Actually Disagrees with the Catholic Church on Sexual Ethics w/ Chris Damian

Join the private group discussion on discord for $1/m:   / gayextrad   In this episode of Intrinsically Ordered, Cade sits down with gay Catholic writer and lawyer ‪@cdamianwrites‬ to unpack one of the most abused buzzwords in Catholic debates: natural law. They trace how Aristotle, Aquinas, and virtue ethics get flattened into YouTube talking points, why “sex is for babies and bonding” doesn’t actually settle anything, and how natural law gets weaponized against LGBT people, contraception, and queer families while mysteriously ignoring things like smoking and worker exploitation. From Latin Mass culture and “Catholic Inc.” to chastity, conversion therapy, and bad analogies about chairs, cups, and diet soda, Cade and Chris ask: What would natural law look like if we actually cared about human flourishing—especially for queer people—instead of just defending a pre-decided rulebook? 00:00 Natural Law in Catholicism 01:35 Catholic Inc. and Rad Trad Explained 03:31 Natural Law and Sexual Ethics 09:39 Critiques and Complexities of Natural Law 14:17 Marriage and Natural Law 20:25 Natural Law in Practice and Popular Misconceptions 37:58 Christian Natural Law and Intuitive Goods 46:30 The Anorexia Argument and Natural Law 50:56 The Flaws in Catholic Natural Law Arguments 56:14 The One-Way Valve of Catholic Studies 58:10 Adoption and Same-Sex Couples 59:52 The Complexity of Human Flourishing 01:04:06 The Inconsistencies in Catholic Sexual Ethics 01:06:57 The Broader Implications of Natural Law