Catholic Church
The Catholic Church and Birth Control (With Study-Club questions)
Joseph S. Duhamel (Paperback) Paulist Press 1962
Answers
I know god says to go forth and multiply but with times evolving and teenagers constantly having sex doesn't it make sense to allow birth control?
In short, it is about the respect for life. It also about respect for the marital act between husband and wife. It's about allowing God into your marriage and being open to the possibility of children. As far as teenagers, allowing birth control would be the same as condoning premarital sex. It just doesn't work that way. Take away the possibility of children even, and what do you have left? Teenage girls and boys who feel used or have had multiple partners before they hit adulthood. What good does that do anyone? Sure, times may be evolving and people change, but morals and values stay the same. Birth control, abortion and the media have promoted "guilt free sex". But the truth is, there is no such thing.
added: What Desiree said about NFP is true. My husband and I practice it. It also makes you more open to the possibility of children, so that if I do become pregnant, then that is just fine. We just got a little too hot and heavy :)
In the next 30 years the population of the Philippines is set to double to 170 million. Contraceptives are frowned on and abortion is illegal but ...
I was reading an article about the Catholic church and how it refused to meet with Novartis after discovering they make contraceptives. In this day and age, with so many unemployed and on welfare and WIC, is it really a good idea to forbid it's church members to use birth control? Explain your reasoning.
I think we all know that natural family planning is not very effective, especially in comparison to birth control pills.
wt rd: Reading your post, I am eerily reminded of the reverend Jim Jones, David Koresh, and others like them.
Personally, I think it is crazy and yes, irresponsible for the Catholic church to forbid birth control for the reasons you pointed out. I used to work for a Catholic nursing home and they put a provision in our health insurance that they would not cover birth control. I thought that was insane! I paid for part of the insurance coverage and I'm not Catholic so I don't think it was right for them to force their beliefs on me.
Price: $14.95
Abortion I understand.
I just find it stupid. You're not killing a life, you're just preventing an **unwanted** life to form.
They just want more people to give them money, and if the kid's a son, even better.
God created sex with a two-fold purpose -- bonding (read up on oxytocin) and babies -- and therefore it is wrong to intentionally separate these aspects. The Catholic Church does not ban birth control; just the kind that go against God's design. God's own birth control, Natural Family Planning, can be just as effective at preventing pregnancy as the Pill, and unlike the Pill, is safe for human beings and the environment.
>>They just want more people to give them money<<
Then why does the Church prohibit IVF?
Why does the Catholic Church condemn birth control? I know at one time the majority of Protestants condemned birth control as a sin until sometime in the 19th century when the Anglican Church said that using birth control is no longer a sin, then the rest of the Protestants followed the trend, but the Catholic Church did not follow the trend and continued to condemn birth control as a sin. Pope Paul VI back in the 1960's wrote an encyclical stating that birth control is intrinsically evil. Why is birth control considered to be a sin in the Catholic Church?
The Catholic Church condemns artificial birth control because it is condemned by God. They have no power nor inclination to change what God has commanded us to do.
All married couples should be open to life. When a couple gets married, they make a vow to each other and to God. They invite Him into their marriage. With that in mind they are to be open to his gift of children.
With the acceptance of birth control, so many things have gone awry. We now have a NEED for abortion. Yes, it is needed according to the Supreme Court because contraception has changed our lifestyles so that we expect to have sex without becoming pregnant. Abortion has become necessary for when contraception fails.
Contraception can also be tied to an increase in pre-marital sex, and infidelity. Again...it's much easier to cheat or sleep around when you have birth control and abortion to fall back on. The Church saw this coming. In the encyclical Humanae Vitae, written in 1968 http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_v i/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_2507 1968_humanae-vitae_en.html)
Pope Paul VI predicts that birth control will cause these things and now we have the advantage of being able to see that he was absolutely right.
I was raised Protestant and fully believed that birth control was right and necessary. Spacing children was necessary etcl. and so forth. After becoming Catholic, I was aware of the Church teaching but didn't get it. I read Humanae Vitae and was so amazed at the beauty of it. Not an encyclical full of rules...but one full of love. The reason is God loves us, the propagation of life is an affirmation of his greatness and his love for us. When we cut him out of our marriage, out of our sexuality we are saying "NO" to his love.
The Church's commission is to shepherd Christ's faithful and help them get to heaven. This it must do and cannot change with the tide of society and popular opinion. As Catholics we are told that to be within the fullness of God's grace we are to follow these precepts. We can choose not to...but at least the Church has done her job of letting us know that doing so is to step outside the circle of grace.
Just like as American's we have laws in place for our own good. We can choose to break those laws and accept the consequences of that choice. The same goes for that which the Church teaches. She only shows us the way and lets us know the road in these matters. If we choose otherwise, we know we have chosen against God and against his Church.
Something else many don't know, is that there are other well known, non-Catholics who were against birth controll. Ghandi said: The union is meant not for pleasure, but for bringing forth progeny . and union is a crime when the desire for progeny is absent.
Also: Artificial methods are like putting a premium upon vice. They make man and woman reckless. http://www.mkgandhi.org/momgandhi/chap59 .htm
And Sigmund Freud: "it is a characteristic common to all the perversions that in them reproduction as an aim is put aside. This is actually the criterion by which we judge whether a sexual activity is perverse - if it departs from reproduction in its aims and pursues the attainment of gratification independently . . . Everything that . . . serves the pursuit of gratification alone is called by the unhonored title of ‘perversion’ and as such is despised."
In summary, there is much to be understood about the Catholic position on contraception. The world believes it is the desire of the Church to control and limit the pleasure of the faithful. That it desires to force people to have more children then they can afford and keep women down by keeping the pregnant. I would say that those who think this are the ones who are unenlightened. The Church's teaching on birth control is beautiful and God centered. It teaches married couples to seek God in all aspectes of their lives and enjoy the fullness of their marriage and their sexuality. When sex works as it should, babies are born and this is a good thing, not an accident. During fertile times, couples can abstain from sex if they have a licit reason not to want a child at this particular time, this gives them a chance to express their love and committment in non-sexual ways which can enhance their marriage. Just a statistic for you...couples using NFP (natural family planning http://www.ccli.org/) have a 0% rate of divorce.
Contraception teaches us that sex is supposed to be non-procreative and selfish.
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/2964/ birthcontrol.html
http://www.scripturecatholic.com/contrac eption.html
http://www.catholic.net/RCC/Periodicals/ Faith/11-12-98/Morality2.html
http://www.catholic.com/library/Birth_Co ntrol.asp
I mean I could understand if they were against abortion but birth control and condoms are the way of preventing abortions from happening by stopping the baby from ever being concieved in the first place and condoms also stop the spread of STDs. I mean I know they say abstinence but that is so unrealistic I mean it is a human instinct to have sex.
Jon B. I am not bashing Christians because I am half Christian. I am just wondering because it makes no sense to me and not all Christians follow what the Catholic church says.
I am also half Jewish...so I see both sides of the religious spectrum
Brian I lumped it in because not using birth control could lead to kids who can not be supported and then the mother may be forced to get an abortion. I just does not make sense that they do not support abortion but then they also do not support birth control either
I asked it here because it has to do with abortion as well
No we are not wild animals but it is unrealistic that people only have sex for procreation in my opinion because it is just human nature and our brains are not really "civilized" when they go into instinct mode.
The Catholic Church is against pre-marital sex. Abstinence really is a 100% sure way to prevent STD's and unwanted pregnancy, but using birth control and condoms can help. A recent study found that teens who take "abstinence pledges" are just as likely to get an STD and more likely to allow for anal and oral sex. Using condoms is like using a seat belt. A seat belt is just in case...Some argue that giving out condoms promotes sex, but then that would mean using a seatbelt is promoting an accident. Neither is true. Using a condom prevents something unwanted from happening, either a sexually transmitted disease or a pregnancy. Using a condom says you have respect for yourself, respect for your partner and respect for the potential life you could create.
Buy Cheap
Catholic charity welcomes Archbishop#39;s shift on women and poverty ...
The Catholic international development charity Progressio has welcomed comments made by the most senior figure in the Catholic Church in England and Wales, who said that he understands why condoms are seen as an “attractive” option when considered in the context of developing world poverty.
In an interview with BBC WM, Archbishop Vincent Nichols, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference, said: “I think when it comes to Third World poverty, and the great pressure under which many women are put by men, I can see the arguments why, in the short-term, (the) means that give women protection are attractive.”
Although Archbishop Nichols indicated he did not believe the Church has a direct role in promoting the use of condoms, he said it should be involved in tackling the root causes of poverty.
...Outrage with the Church of Rome | Free Range Longmont
A headline article that appeared in today’s Denver Post details the thousands of cases of child molestation by Christ’s representatives here on earth. The article that quotes the New York Times, accuses Pope Benedict XVI of blatantly ignoring requests by one of one of his priests to act on allegations that a Milwaukee priest had molested over 200 deaf boys in Wisconsin. In case you forget, these boys were forced to have oral and anal sex with a person of trust. Not just one boy, but 200.
Benedict, then a Cardinal, did what so many of the Church hierarchy did here in the United States, in Mexico, in Ireland, in Germany, in Switzerland, and in many other countries. They ignored the problem, or sent the priest to counseling. When the offender was “cured” he was sent back to molest again. Tens of thousands of children over the years. Civilian pedefiles are tried in a court of law, and if convicted, are sent to prison here.
...News
Whither the Catholic Church?Wicked Local Topsfield (blog) - Apr 02, 2010
The HinduFor example, the Pope is infallible and his edicts cannot be disputed by the flock; women will never be priests; birth control other than the rhythm method Archbishop Nichols is saving the Catholic Church from the condom trapThe Catholic Church#39;s Blind Spot?Condoms can help on poverty - Catholic leadernbsp;-nbsp;-all 4,517 news articlesnbsp;raquo;
Manila Bulletin - Apr 02, 2010
Cabral delighted by Church#39;s aid in drive against AIDS, HIVAs the Catholic Church frowns on the use of condoms, Cabral said the government will still distribute condoms to men engaging sex with other men, and morenbsp;raquo;Baltimore Sun - Mar 30, 2010
Lifesite some of which are supported by the Catholic Church, to post signs stating that they do not refer women for abortion or birth control. Crisis pregnancy centers sue for discriminationRoundup: Crisis Pregnancy Centers Sue for Right to MisleadArchdiocese Sues City Over Pregnancy Signsnbsp;-nbsp;-all 45 news articlesnbsp;raquo;
Washington Post (blog) - Apr 02, 2010
But a regular everyday Catholic who commits the sin of using birth control must refrain from taking communion. It doesn#39;t make sense. So as Holy Week began, and morenbsp;raquo;SunHerald.com (registration) - Apr 02, 2010
The Catholic Church supports the idea that life begins at conception. Jennifer Williams, director of Catholic Social and Community Services Inc., and morenbsp;raquo;Huffington Post (blog) - Mar 24, 2010
National PostDo America#39;s Catholic schools harbor any children whose parents had sex before marriage? Who use birth control? Who encourage their older children to use Lost in a moral mazeThe Catholic church#39;s bureaucratic lament: quot;It wasn#39;t my responsibilityquot;The Vatican#39;s Fix: Abuse and Renewalnbsp;-nbsp;-all 3,370 news articlesnbsp;raquo;
Washington Post (blog) - Mar 27, 2010
True/SlantGeorgetown#39;s lack of condomsI#39;m not big on the Catholic Church discouraging birth control, but that#39;s the party line. Did these kids think that Georgetown would have condoms in their Chains Effective for Georgetown Protestorsall 6 news articlesnbsp;raquo;