Lilli, It sounds to me like you don't really understand the Church's position on sex. It is not, and has not been sex just for procreation, in fact is it sinful to deny sex to your spouse. The Church's position is that sex is the gift of life reserved for married couples. It is permitted and even encouraged as an expression of love between couples whether the intent is to procreate or not. The restriction is that as a couple, you are not supposed to interfere in any way with conception, which means no birth control, nor any copulation that is not part of the act of IC. The reason for this is to keep sex as the ultimate expression of love rather than cheapening it to "getting yourself off", which can and often does lead to using your spouse for your own sexual gratification rather than as the expression of love it is supposed to be. By adhering to these ideals, the hope is for it to grow into a love that mirrors God's love for us. The CHurch feels that it is difficult or impossible to reach that level if we are focused on getting ourselves off, and the the act of MB, whether jointly or solo is solely for physical pleasure. If you have a valid reason to avoid conception, the church asks you to exercise the same self control they asked you to exercise before marriage to avoid sexual contact when she is fertile, which amounts to a couple days each cycle. I think I've suggested this to you before, but maybe not: You really ought to read up on Pope John Paul II's Theology of the body before disparaging the Catholic faith for its views on sexuality, which you clearly do not understand. Don't feel bad, most of the Catholics I know haven't taken the time to understand it either.
