{"podcast":{"title":"Ask Christopher West","slug":"ask-christopher-west-240572","podcast_index_feed_id":240572,"rss_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/10343b5d0/podcast/rss","website_url":"http://askchristopherwest.com","image_url":"https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/staging/podcast_uploaded_nologo/43397364/43397364-1769628946857-91bb7fb83372e.jpg","author":"Theology of the Body Institute","episode_count":394,"summary":"Since the early 90's, author and speaker Christopher West has devoted his life to spreading John Paul II's revolutionary teaching on human life, love, and sexuality: The Theology of the Body. His beloved wife Wendy, mother of their five children, has served as his confidante, friend, and support through these long years of ministry. In this podcast, Christopher and Wendy combine their wisdom to tackle the toughest questions dealing with vocation, sexuality, marriage, and the Catholic faith.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-13T16:20:14.046390+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/ask-christopher-west-240572"},"episode":{"title":"Getting married with same-sex attraction, His sexual past hurts me, and Am I a failure without a big Catholic family?| ACW363","slug":"getting-married-with-same-sex-attraction-his-sexual-past-hurts-me-and-am-i-a-failure-without-a-big-catholic-family-acw363","published_at":"2025-12-15T08:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/ask-christopher-west-240572/getting-married-with-same-sex-attraction-his-sexual-past-hurts-me-and-am-i-a-failure-without-a-big-catholic-family-acw363","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/ask-christopher-west-240572","url":"https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/juan-arregun5/episodes/Getting-married-with-same-sex-attraction--His-sexual-past-hurts-me--and-Am-I-a-failure-without-a-big-Catholic-family--ACW363-e3caa8k","audio_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/10343b5d0/podcast/play/112584404/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2025-11-13%2Fcd653350-a419-2126-3444-cc90d873467f.mp3","summary":"–This episode is sponsored by Truthly– Questions answered this episode: There are many stories of Catholic men who experience same-sex attraction and go on to marry and have families, even though their predominant attraction remains toward men. Many encourage others not to dismiss marriage before exploring whether God could be calling them to it. I’m honestly confused. Would it be right for me to pursue a relationship with a woman without being attracted to her, without longing to share in the marital embrace? Some say attraction to their wives arose later in dating, but it doesn’t seem right to start a romantic relationship without attraction. I’ve been struggling for many months with the sexual past of my boyfriend. It’s been really difficult not to take it personally—feeling deeply hurt and offended that he didn’t wait for me, even though we didn’t know one another when those things occurred. He is now committed to living chastely after realizing that fornication was unfulfilling and a lie, thanks be to God. How can I place the proper weight on his past without taking it personally in a way that sabotages the beautiful relationship we’ve built? I converted to the Catholic faith 7 years ago from an atheistic background. From my parents I have a strong inclination to be a perfectionist, even during the marital embrace. I’m anxious not to fail, and I often think I will be a failure if we don’t get 3 children. We have 2 on earth and 1 in heaven. I feel unworthy compared with traditional huge Catholic families. How can I get rid of this anxiety and be free? Resources: Colorado Ski Retreat with Christopher Sexual Integration & Redemption Course Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved w…","meta_description":"–This episode is sponsored by Truthly– Questions answered this episode: There are many stories of Catholic men who experience same-sex attraction and go o…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3166,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/ask-christopher-west-240572/episodes/getting-married-with-same-sex-attraction-his-sexual-past-hurts-me-and-am-i-a-failure-without-a-big-catholic-family-acw363/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/ask-christopher-west-240572/getting-married-with-same-sex-attraction-his-sexual-past-hurts-me-and-am-i-a-failure-without-a-big-catholic-family-acw363.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}