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Before exploring the Church’s prohibition
against contraception, it is important
to be clear about what contraception
is. Contraception is defined
as “any action which either before, at
the moment of, or after sexual intercourse,
is specifically intended to prevent
procreation—whether as an end
or as a means (Humanae Vitae, #14).”
From the very beginning the Church
has understood that marriage is a
Divine institution that is governed by
the natural law and therefore she has
never accepted the possibility of
adapting or changing the “laws of
marriage” to suit the particular
trends of any age. While marriage
contains a free subjective element, “I
wish to marry this person,” that freedom
to choose marriage must be
rooted in the objective order by understanding
and accepting the natural
law governing marriage. It is this
objective order that the Church has
always promoted and defended for
the good of those entering into the
Sacrament of Holy Matrimony and
for the good of society as a whole.
(See HV, #4, 10‑12, 16).
The objective order in question is the
purpose of marriage. The purpose of
marriage has been defined as being
two-fold — the good of the spouses
and the procreation and education of
children. Because of this two‑fold
purpose of marriage, marriage and
the marital act of sexual intercourse
itself is said to be both “unitive” and
“procreative.” “It is not good for man
to be alone,” (Genesis 2:18), and “be
fruitful and multiply,” (Genesis 1:28).
Sometimes a compromise is put forth
that suggests that as long as a couple
is open to the transmission of new life
within the broader context of their
marriage, they can licitly use contraception
in order to regulate the birth
of their children. The problem with
this position is that it fails to appreciate
the connection between the liturgical
act of marriage and each act of
sexual intercourse itself as a renewal
of that covenant of Holy Matrimony.
Each and every act of sexual intercourse
between a man and his wife
must authentically tell the truth
about the promises they made on
their wedding day, which includes
the promise to lovingly accept children
from God. This does not mean
however that every act of sexual
intercourse must intend or result in
the conception of new human life, but
it means that every act must be open
to the possibility of life, or in other
words, the act must not repudiate the
possibility of conception.
The Church is not condemning the
regulation of birth per se, but rather
certain means of regulation, namely,
those means which act against procreation
in a marital act. “The regulation
of births represents one of the
aspects of responsible fatherhood
and motherhood.
Legitimate intentions on the part of
the spouses do not justify recourse to
morally unacceptable means (for
example, direct sterilization or contraception).”
(Catechism of the Catholic
Church, #2399. See also CCC #2367-2371).
In light of the advances in medical
science and our knowledge of the
human body and its biological
processes, the Church wisely encourages
couples to apply themselves
intelligently to the natural functions
of their bodies, particularly with
regard to the rhythms of the female
cycle of fertility (HV, #16). By making
use of naturally infertile times a couple
may pursue the unitive good of
marriage while at the same time not
acting against the procreative good
(there is no act of repudiation against
life here). This same knowledge
which can be used to avoid pregnancy
can also be used to help achieve
pregnancy, and in some cases even
help identify gynecological problems.
The Bead System of Fertility
Awareness and numerous other natural
family planning methods are in
conformity with the objective moral
criterion for regulating birth.
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