Jack Dominian The meaning of Sexual Intercourse (Summary) The encyclical Humanae Vitae in 1968 was a surprise to the Catholic Church and thirty years later there is a tension between orthodoxy that wants its acceptance and an overwhelming proportion of the Church that finds it incomprehensible. The encyclical insisted that every act of intercourse must be open to a unitive and procreative element. The tension over its theology has undoubtedly handicapped the Church from exploring the meaning of sexual intercourse as an expression of love. In this article the work of Dr. J. Dominian in Britain, who has been exploring the meaning of sexual intercourse over the last twenty five years, is outlined. Essentially the article proposes that the physical characteristics of coitus have a personal, interpersonal and moral language of meaning. The personal meaning includes affirmation of the identity and of the sexual identity. It is an essential part of reconciliation, self esteem and thanksgiving. The interpersonal expression of love is to be found in the everyday sustaining, healing and growth of the couple in which sexual intercourse plays a vital part. Seen in this way, marriage is both central to procreation but its characteristics of commitment, exclusiveness, faithfulness, and permanency are also essential to safeguard the manifold meanings of sexual intercourse. Finally, sexual intercourse is a channel of divine love. It expresses the Trinitarian communion of three persons, who are both one and completely separate. In the act of intercourse, the couple are both one and at the same time separate. In so far as sexual intercourse is the commonest expression of marital love which in turn is the commonest expression of mankind, it is central to evangelisation.