People are being forced today to take a stand on same-sex marriage, assisted suicide and capital punishment. As they ponder how to vote on these issues, a critical question emerges: Is this morally right?

At the same time people have become confused about the morality of sex in general. What should they teach their teenagers and how talk with their older sons and daughters about living together. Undergirding current sexual practice is the unquestioned acceptance of contraception. Should contraception be explicitly examined?

Besides clarifying each issue I let the reader know what the Church teaches (using the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Pope John Paul IIs encyclicals). And I show how reasonable the Church's position is (utilizing the writings of Germain Grisez, a distinguished lay moral theologian and philosopher.) To ensure readers understand Grisez's solutions to these diverse issues I explain in simple terms his ethical approach.

Non-Catholics will find especially significant the human reasoning behind such teachings. They and Catholics can dialogue on this level. The Pope's early writings on conjugal love may prove impressive.

People just do not discuss abortion today, for positions seem hardened and unbreachable. By posing a series of fundamental questions, logically interrelated, I hope to breach the unbreachable. At least it will be clear precisely where participants part company from one another.

The most sensitive issue I find to be homosexuality. I have rewritten the treatment a number of times in an effort to be clear, fair, and sensitive.