"One spouse is enough", - Pope LEO tells Catholics as he declares church’s position on polygamy

Wednesday, November 26, 2025 - Pope Leo has reaffirmed the Vatican’s stance on marriage, declaring that for Catholics, one spouse is enough.

In a decree issued on Tuesday, November 25^th, 2025, the Vatican’s doctrinal office reminded the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics that marriage is meant to be a lifelong union between one man and one woman.

The document urged believers to avoid multiple intimate relationships and instead embrace the “richness and fruitfulness” of traditional marriage.

“Every authentic marriage is a unity composed of two individuals, which requires such an intimate and totalising relationship that it cannot be shared with others,” the decree stated.

“Since (marriage) is a union between two people who have the same dignity and the same rights, it demands exclusivity.”

The decree criticised polygamy, particularly in Africa where cultural traditions sometimes allow multiple committed relationships, even among Catholics.

It also noted the rise of polyamorous structures in Western societies, where individuals openly date several partners at once.

“Polygamy, adultery, or polyamory are based on the illusion that the intensity of the relationship can be found in a succession of faces,” the Vatican warned.

Marriage had already been a topic of heated debate at Vatican summits in 2023 and 2024, hosted by the late Pope Francis, where Bishops and Cardinals discussed how best to uphold Catholic teachings in modern times.

While the decree did not address same‑s3x unions, it reaffirmed the Church’s stance against divorce, viewing marriage as a lifelong covenant.

However, it highlighted the annulment process, which examines whether marriages were validly contracted, and stressed that no partner is expected to remain in abusive relationships.

The Kenyan DAILY POST