A declaration on certain questions concerning sexual ethics, approved by Paul VI and issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at a moment of widespread confusion about the moral norms governing sexuality. It restates that the moral principles in this field flow from the finality of the sexual act within marriage and are not merely conventional; it reaffirms the immorality of sexual relations outside marriage, addresses homosexual acts while distinguishing them from the persons concerned, and treats masturbation, the formation of conscience, the necessity of grace and the virtue of chastity as a work of the Holy Spirit.