In this article we will demonstrate that the primary end of marriage is the procreation and education of children and that this teaching has not changed. The secondary end, which consists of the mutual love and support of the spouses, is a divine precept and cannot be discarded or rendered optional. We will first examine the clear Church teaching from Popes Pius XI and Pius XII. Afterward, we will explore what the Second Vatican Council says and how the post-conciliar era presents the teaching. The clear statements of the pre-conciliar era will make way for the more obscure and ambiguous formulations of the post-conciliar era.
