 According to the Church , humans are sexual beings whose sexual identity should be accepted in the unity of body and soul . The sexes are meant by divine design to be different and complementary , each having equal dignity and made in the image of God . Sexual acts are sacred within the context of the marital relationship that reflects a " complete and lifelong mutual gift of a man and a woman . " Sexual sins thus violate not just the body but the person 's whole being . In his 1995 book Crossing the <unk> of Hope , John Paul II reflected on this concept : 
