Onanism is often on the minds of middle-aged people in the United States. This is particularly true of middle-aged church people who are desperately trying to control the sexual pleasure of young people.

We must be candid about this practice of onanism, described in the Bible as the spilling of (human) seed upon the ground.

In frank terms, we are talking about masturbation, and even though some innocent people in our readership may not know what masturbation means, I refuse to attempt an explanation.

Since the beginning of the Christian church, people have been organized against onanism. The opposition was so dedicated to wiping it out that some people told lies to scare people. For instance, some clerics and their followers said that masturbation would cause them to go blind or hair to grow on the palms of their hands.

You may have guessed those scare tactics have not worked. Oh, there are many men and women who have experienced guilt over onanism, but during the years many absolutions have wiped out any remorse. And the practice, according to research, continues.

I am not pointing any fingers. There are many who are guilty and few who are innocent. We are not interested in names. Our interest merely is in the changing attitude of the church toward the "beastly sin" of masturbation.

Yes, the Catholic Church has issued a new catechism and responsible scholars have isolated a short excerpt about Onan's sin. The Rev. Terence Phipps, a lecturer in moral theology at Allen Hall, a leading seminary in London, said, "Masturbation has always been regarded as a grave matter."

That attitude led many Catholics to regard masturbation as a mortal sin, one that would send a person to hell for sure. But Phipps told the London Times the revised catechism makes it clear onanism need not be sinful. This is shocking news, because in the Old Testament, a man named Onan obeys God in all things except that he spills his seed upon the ground. In the next instant, Onan is struck down and slain by God (Genesis 38).

My guess is that God was most concerned about Onan's selfishness and the avoidance of any responsibility with his partner. By avoiding responsibility, no children were being produced. That was a big deal, because populating the neighborhood was a challenge at the time.

Catholicism's latest ruling, however, should help erase some confusion on the topic. When faced with a case of masturbation, clergy can assure parents that their young people are simply immature and have needs that can't be satisfied any other way - at the moment.

Second, it will free clergy to make more merciful rulings in these cases. In the past, clergy have been resolute in finding each young person guilty of sin. As they looked out over their adolescent flock, they made mass judgments about their nocturnal activities. Now they can view their flock as being free of major sin and only partially responsible for their onanism.

Third, this ruling will liberate generations of older people who have wondered about the sins of their past and have pleaded with God to forget those moments of weakness. Alas, there are people still alive (I am not joking about this) who wonder if they will not be able to enter heaven because of onanism decades ago. Now clergy can tell them, without hesitation, to forget past sins and to leave their disposition in heaven to the mercy of God.

This is the wonder of religion: that it is firm enough to give us a foundation for our lives and flexible enough to give us mercy when it is needed. In this case, mercy abounds and most of us are grateful.

Clark D. Morphew