Does the Church teach it is better to die than to be raped?
The short answer
No. The Catechism says rape can wound a victim's "moral integrity," meaning wholeness — not that the victim sins. The perpetrator, not the victim, has sinned, because morality lies in the act of the will. Saints like Maria Goretti are honored for resisting, but that does not imply others were sinful. Victims must be treated with profound compassion.
What "integrity" means
The Catechism defines rape as the forcible violation of another's sexual intimacy and says it can wound the victim's "moral integrity." Integrity here means wholeness: rape wounds a person's wholeness and can shatter innocence. It does not make the victim sinful.
Victims are not responsible
The Catechism goes on to stress how evil rape is, especially against children. It does not suggest any victim is responsible or morally corrupted by the abuse.
Maria Goretti
Saints such as Maria Goretti who fought off attackers are honored for purity, but this in no way implies those who could not fend off an attacker sinned. Either way, the perpetrator sinned, not the victim: morality lies in the act of the will.
Compassion
Victims often question themselves, feel guilty for an evil they did not initiate, and live in fear. Anyone who treats them with anything other than profound compassion acts against the Church's teaching and needs correction.
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