In addition, many people "marry" without any intention of having sex. It constantly amazes me that people can raise the inability of same-gendered people to procreate as an argument against their marriage, when people well beyond childbearing age get married all the time just for companionship.
My wife was a putative Catholic when we decided to marry and felt compelled by family considerations to marry within that faith. During the mandatory Pre-Cana class, the priest required me to swear (but not to prove; he was an enlightened priest) that I was not impotent, but noted that it was okay to be sterile. I had always thought that the Catholic doctrine mandated procreation and so was a bit surprised. Upon questioning the two issues, I was informed that the Church felt it essential that the marriage be consumated, whether offspring sprung forth or not. So at least way back then, the "icky" stuff was a requirement; the future Catholics was an anticipated touch of icing on the cake.
