Catholic Church And Contraception Essay, Research Paper

The issue of contraception has been an extremely controversial and debated one

in the Catholic Church. The Catholic religion declares that the three

requirements for healthy sexual expression include a mutual physical drive for

pleasure, intimacy and committed love between the couple, and the openness to

procreation and parenting children. This last aspect is the subject of much

disagreement between people both inside and outside the church community. The

authoritative voice of the church, the Magisterium, holds that artificial

contraception is a sin and only accepts the form of contraception called Natural

Family Planning. This method involves avoiding sexual intercourse during certain

times of the month and will be explained in more detail shortly. There are

situations which are argued should be exceptions, such as rape, a family who

already has children and can afford no more, and the overall health of the

couple involved in the sexual relationship. The viewpoint of the Church is an

old one, but the Magisterium claims that it will not change anytime soon. There

are many different types of contraception available. Type one classified

contraception includes barrier methods such as condoms, diaphragms, the cervical

cap, and spermicides. Type two classified contraception is hormonal methods,

such as birth control pills, emergency contraception or the ?morning after

pill,? IUD?s and Norplant. Type three contraception is Natural Family

Planning, the only type approved by the Church. Natural Family Planning is

sometimes confused with the rhythm method, but it actually more effective than

rhythm. NFP is a method that involves careful regulation of a woman?s

menstrual cycle to determine when her fertile period falls begins. The day of

ovulation and a few days before is considered a woman?s ?fertile period?

and by either avoiding or participating in intercourse during these days, a

woman can decrease or increase her chances of pregnancy respectively. The signs

that a woman is close to ovulation are an increase in basal temperature, changes

in vaginal secretions, an opening of the cervical os, physical symptoms such as

cramps or moodiness, and an increase in sexual desire. It is important to

carefully monitor all these aspects to ensure proper prevention of pregnancy.

This practice is accepted by the Catholic Church because they defend that the

integration of intimacy between partners and the receptivity to procreation are

not obstructed. It is important to observe how we ended up at the teaching the

church now holds dealing with contraception and sexuality. Throughout the

centuries, many different decisions from the church have influenced the view

that is now held. In 306, the Council of Elvira found that a priest who was

sexually intimate with their wife the night before a mass would lose his job. At

the Council of Nicea in 325, the rule that priests could not marry after being

ordained was created, and in 385, they could no longer sleep with their wives.

The first chastity rules were then being formed for religious people. St.

Augustine had a profound impact on sexual teachings. He lived from 354-430 as a

philosopher and theologian, recently converted from a sinful life. It is

believed that St. Augustine developed the first codified teachings of sexuality.

He deeply believed the philosophy of Manichaeism, which states that ?matter is

evil opposed to spirit.? His teachings were very specific and strict. Stoic

philosophy influenced St. Augustine to require that procreation be the primary

focus of sexual intercourse and marriage. This teaching was held in the church

all the way until Vatican II. St. Augustine was the first to condemn abstinence

during the fertile period and ?coitus interruptus.? He did not believe that

the pleasure involved with sex should in any way be the motivation, but was

acceptable as a necessary ?side effect.? St. Augustine did not view sex in

terms of love or expression, but simply as a procreative act necessary for life.

The Second Council of Tours in 567 excommunicated any religious person found in

bed with their wife. In 580, the church leader was Pope Pelagius II who had a

rather casual outlook on sexual matters. He did not want to bother the clergy

and rather looked the other way from the corruption going on. Pope Gregory the

Great served from 590-604 and stated that all sexual desire in any form was

wrong. Throughout the world, sexuality was a key issue. Seventh century France

found most priests to be married. Germany, in the eighth century, reported

through St. Boniface that hardly any bishops were following their call to

celibacy. The Council of Aix-la-Chapelle in 836 found that abortions and killing

of infants were being practiced in convents and monasteries to conceal

uncelibate activities of the religious staff. St. Ulrich ?fixed? this

problem by allowing priests to marry. St. Thomas Aquinas was a key religious

figure of the Scholastic Period. He was the first to publicly discuss the

goodness of sexuality with reason. He stressed the use of one?s conscience to

determine what is right and wrong. He, as well, agreed that sexuality and

marriage should have its main purpose as procreation. Although Aquinas held the

beliefs of many former theologians, there was more leniency towards sexual

pleasure. Pope Boniface IX resigned the papacy in order to marry in 1045. In

1074, Pope Gregory VII made it necessary for anyone being ordained to take an

oath of celibacy. The extremity of this was seen in 1095 when Pope Urban II sold

the wives of priests into slavery and left all children of them abandoned. The

First Lateran Council took place in 1123, where Pope Calistus II found all

clerical marriages to be officially invalid. This council was supported in the

Second Lateran Council. The Renaissance was quickly approaching and literature

and art were beginning to stress procreation in relationships. The Council of

Trent, from 1543-1563, declared that celibacy and virginity were superior to

marriage. St. Alphonsus Ligouri, a doctor of the church, was one of the first to

state that an important part of marriage was a means for sexual expression. The

Twentieth Century brought with it many of the most significant documents and

meetings influencing today?s stance on sexuality and contraception. The

Lambeth Conference took place in 1930 and decided that couples could make

decisions about contraception themselves, but that contraceptives were not

approved by the Church in any way. Pope Pius XI wrote his encyclical, Castii

Conubii, in 1940, stating that procreation should be the primary end for sexual

intercourse in a marriage. He stated ??any use of marriage whatever, in the

exercise of which the act is deprived of its natural power of procreating life,

violates the law of God and nature, and those who commit anything of this kind

are marked with the stain of grave sin.? (Pope Pius XI). In his Address to

Midwives in 1951, Pope Pius XII condemned artificial contraceptives and declared

that this ruling could not be changed. Pope Pius XII did, however, condone

Natural Family Planning and the rhythm method and became the first time to allow

sex apart from procreation. In 1965, Vatican Council II: Constitution on the

Church in the Modern World took place. Pope Paul VI delayed making a decision on

the proposition to have human nature and his acts as the governing principle in

sexuality at this conference. He was awaiting the presentation by Pope John

XXIII of the decisions made at the Meetings of the Birth Control Commission,

which took place from 1963-1966. Theologians, cardinals, bishops, priests, and

laypeople met to discuss sexual issues, including that of contraception. The

decision reached was that the previous teachings of the church were not

infallible, that artificial contraception was not evil, and that Catholic

families should have freedom to decide their method of family planning. These

decisions, however, were overturned by Pope Paul VI in Humanae Vitae in 1968.

Pope Paul VI upheld the previous teachings and dismissed what the council had

found, claiming that he knew more about the issue than all the religious and

3,000 couples surveyed about the decision. His opinion is reinforced by Vatican

spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls who stated, ?A permissive attitude to

sexuality ruins the family, weakens the responsibility of parents, goes against

the good of children, and has a highly destabilizing effect on society as a

whole.? (Ribadeneira B2). Pope Paul VI?s decision was based on his

involvement with Pope Pius XII because he did not want to dispute Pope Pius?

previous teachings. Pope Paul VI relied on natural law and the teaching that

sexuality must always be open to new life. This decision has been the root of

constant disagreement, a loss of respect for teachings in the Church today, and

the loss of many faithful supporters. Familiaris Consortio was written in 1981

by Pope John Paul II and introduced sex as the ?language of love.? The

encyclical states that artificial contraception is contradictory to this

language. Pope John Paul II, in detail, says in his document about the

difference between artificial contraception and Natural Family Planning, ?It

is a difference which is much wider and deeper than is usually thought, one

which involves in the final analysis two irreconcilable concepts of the human

person and of human sexuality. The choice of the natural rhythms involves

accepting the cycle of the person.. which means to recognize both the spiritual

and corporal character of conjugal communion and to live personal love with its

requirement of fidelity.? (Pope John Paul II #32). Most recently, Veritatis

Splendor written by Pope John Paul II spoke about the existence of moral

absolutes and reaffirmed the teaching of artificial contraception being

intrinsically evil. As previously mentioned, natural law plays a significant

role in forming the opinions of the church. Natural law is defined as what human

reason can determine about human nature and its moral duties that are separate

from divine revelation. Natural law originates in human reason, ancient

philosophers such as Aristotle, secular sciences, and common sense. The

Dictionary of Theology explains it rather well in saying ?The sum of the

rights and duties which of themselves follow directly from the nature of man, as

a being endowed with reason and free will, is?. called natural law in Catholic

ethics; the mutability or immutability of the law and the possibility of knowing

it are important themes in Greek and Christian philosophy.? (Rahner 329). The

Magisterium claims the power to interpret natural law and incorporate its

interpretation into Church teachings. The faithful observance of these teachings

of God?s will are taught to be necessary for salvation and entrance into

Heaven. The natural law, with respect to sexuality, teaches that sexual

intercourse must be both unitive and procreative and must contain both aspects.

However, many argue that Natural Family Planning does not prove to be both

unitive and procreative, and this has led to great dispute within the Church.

Although the Magisterium upholds all these beliefs, the gravity of artificial

contraception as a sin must be a decision made from one?s conscience and may

only be judged by God. Artificial contraception and Natural Family Planning are

both forms of contraception, and even though the Church considers one acceptable

and the other as extreme as a mortal sin, they share many similarities in

essence. Despite the differences in processes, neither method supports the

procreative side of sexual intercourse. Artificial contraception is doing

something to prevent pregnancy, while Natural Family Planning is NOT doing

something to prevent pregnancy. The only argument the Church gives for the

difference is that NFP makes use of nature instead of artificial means in order

to control a situation. They argue that artificial contraception hinders a

natural process that is meant to happen. In America magazine, a speaker from the

Humanae Vitae Conference in Omaha, Nebraska was quoted as saying ?Whether

Norplant or the pill, contraception communicates a certain disdain for one?s

natural fertility. (America 37). This says a lot for how insignificant many

people feel is the difference between NFP and artificial contraception. After

all this information about the background of contraception and the controversial

stance of the Church, the reader may be wondering what will happen in the

future. There has been great opposition to the current adamant position the

Church holds about the serious sinfulness of artificial contraception. Father

Philip Sumner sums up how many Catholic families feel by saying, ?The Church

can make statements about contraception, but nobody cares about it. Many people

have given up looking to the Church in terms of contraception.? (Ward T002).

Many people see hope in reform in the near future despite the insistence by the

Church that these decisions are final. One nun has even made headlines by

resigning her sisterhood and devotion to God because of her disagreement with

the way Church has dealt with these issues. Sr. Lavinia Byrne explains her

position by stating ?I am resigning because of the pressure from the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the faith? the burden has become intolerable.

They are using techniques that seem to belong to mother age and are behaving

like the Inquisition. I feel bullied. (Malcolm 8). There are several reasons why

the present teaching can be changed however. Firstly, the teaching of Humanae

Vitae is not infallible, but is only a part of Catholic tradition. Natural law

determines a large portion of teachings throughout time and as the way society

works changes, the teachings of the Church move with it. There is no ?pure

nature? and there is always room for change and this could lead to a change of

teaching. Also, the Church, in the past, followed many practices that seem

ridiculous today such as slavery, indulgences, and persecution of women. The

culture that these practices were in changed, and thus, so did the stance of the

Church. This has set a precedent that is expected to be followed. Contraception

has been termed a mortal sin, but this would require a grave matter, full

knowledge of seriousness of what you are doing, and sound consent of mind and

will. The questionable aspect is the gravity of the sin. The faithful members of

the Church community have, for the most part, rejected the current teaching.

Even those Catholics who are extremely religious use contraceptives, and usually

for very good reason. An alarmingly high percentage of Catholics use artificial

birth control, and very few agree with the Church on the evil involved with

contraception. Natural Law was named as one of the factors involved in the

temporary status of the current teaching. There are many differences in how

sexuality is incorporated into our society today, compared to the time period

when this teaching was created. Rahner, as well, states that ?The Church is

making authentic pronouncements which are promulgated by the Magisterium, which

are, for their arguments, dependent on justifications and proofs taken from the

secular sciences and universal human reason.? (Rahner 33). The differences

today that could influence some kind of change include several important aspects

of society. First, females are becoming much more independent and appreciated in

these days. A woman?s experiences of wifehood, motherhood, and sex are taken

into account and not looked down upon. Probably the most important change is

continuing education. Marriages are delayed until mid-twenties and early

thirties on average because of people?s desire to go to college and graduate

schools. This leads to longer (and probably more) relationships and a different

maturity about sex. Artificial contraception is more strongly needed in cases

such as these. Other people these days are just not opting to marry or are

homosexual. Procreation is not in anyway a focus anymore, but is more of an

unwanted incident that is possible. Contraception, whether artificial or

natural, is obviously not favored by the Church, but the latter is allowed as a

compromise it sometimes seems. The teachings and advisements are rather blatant,

but it has been shown that couples are still turning away from the Church on

this matter. Many religious teachers, because of the strong opposition both

within and outside the Church, instruct their followers to go with what their

conscience feels is right and to use the Church?s teaching as an advisement.

To this day though, if one was to strictly follow the teachings of the

Magisterium, artificial contraception would be out of the question and to

regulate pregnancy, Natural Family Planning would be the right choice.

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Daughters of St. Paul; 1981. Catholic Church: Pope Paul VI. Humanae Vitae.

Catholic Mind. Sept. 1968: 54-55. Harris, Peter. On Human Life: An Examination

of Humanae Vitae. London: Burns & Oates; 1968. ?International Humanae

Vitae Conference.? America 25 Sept. 1993. Kaufman, Philip, ODB. Why You Can

Disagree and Remain a Faithful Catholic. New York: Crossroads Publ.; 1988.

Malcolm, Teresa. ??Bullied? By Vatican, Nun to Leave Order? National

Catholic Reporter 21 Jan. 2000: 8-9. Rahner, Karl and Herbert Vorgrimler.

Dictionary of Theology. New York; Crossroads Publ,; 1981. Ribadeneira, Diego.

?Vatican Sets the Record Straight: Its Views on Sex Are Unchanged.? Boston

Globe 2 Oct. 1999: B2. Ward, Stephen. ?Society: Birth Control: Baby Faith Good

Catholics Could Not Use Contraception, Said the Priests. But Now It May Be a

Matter for Individual Conscience.? The Guardian 29 Apr. 1998: T002. Winikoff,

Beverly and Suzanne Wymelenberg. The Whole Truth About Contraception: A Guide to

Safe and Effective Choices. Washington D.C.: Joseph Henry Press; 1997.