A little help with an answer...

[cemiller]

I have a freind who sent me this in a e-mail. I know that most of it is not true, but I’m not entirely sure how to answer it. Just wondering if anyone out there can help.

"I just re-read that last convo, made a mistake, should of said the church teaches we “shouldn’t” bred constantly. This yes has no scripture backing but was done because of research based on how fast we can bred and how slow we produce food. And like I said it isn’t really catholic to do such a thing but the church used to enforce it. They used to regulate all marriage much like a government. They never said to anyone you can’t have children, granted. But they would force people to re-marry if they couldn’t have children… A lot of this changed in the reforms. Also btw a lot of the “theology” is being changed to a modernistic take on Christianity. This has been in effect since around the 1960s. A lot of things in the Church are being changed/reformed. It takes a lot to admit your wrong about some things and it is nice that the Church will do that and try to fix it’s ways. I personally prefer it over the medieval ways of just murdering your opposition. The Church changes because of a reason. Catholic means universal, not to be stuck in one time period or on one group of people. Anyways I’m sure we can talk more of this later, just felt I should point out my error in saying that the church says we should breed constantly."

 

[laszlo]

This statement is not true.

The Catholic church always believed that the valid marriage cannot be dissolved, regardless of children; and also that the celibate life consecrated to God is better than the married life.

The obligatory marriage was issue only in the case of Cathars, who denied the marriage as institution, and they had to show their repentance form their heresy by marring; not remarry and not for children, but for the normal life, and the vow of chastity was proper substitute.

Your friend probably confuses the thing with the Jewish levirate law: if a man died without children and the his widow was in childbearing age, the brother of the man was required to marry the widow, and the firstborn was the heir of the deceased man.

 

[NPC]

I have a freind who sent me this in a e-mail. I know that most of it is not true, but I’m not entirely sure how to answer it. Just wondering if anyone out there can help.

"I just re-read that last convo, made a mistake, should of said the church teaches we “shouldn’t” bred constantly. This yes has no scripture backing but was done because of research based on how fast we can bred and how slow we produce food. And like I said it isn’t really catholic to do such a thing but the church used to enforce it. They used to regulate all marriage much like a government. They never said to anyone you can’t have children, granted. But they would force people to re-marry if they couldn’t have children… A lot of this changed in the reforms. Also btw a lot of the “theology” is being changed to a modernistic take on Christianity. This has been in effect since around the 1960s. A lot of things in the Church are being changed/reformed. It takes a lot to admit your wrong about some things and it is nice that the Church will do that and try to fix it’s ways. I personally prefer it over the medieval ways of just murdering your opposition. The Church changes because of a reason. Catholic means universal, not to be stuck in one time period or on one group of people. Anyways I’m sure we can talk more of this later, just felt I should point out my error in saying that the church says we should breed constantly."

I’m not sure I’d spend much time responding to it. It seems to me to be a collection of vague statements about the Church - does your friend have references for the claims they made? For example:

• That the Church “would force people to re-marry if they couldn’t have children”: have they a reference for this, that this was an official position and practice of the Church?
• “A lot of this changed in the reforms”: what reforms? Vatican II? Reference?
• “A lot of the ‘theology’ is being changed to a modernistic take on Christianity”: in what way? Where and when has the Church changed its teaching? Has it changed its position on moral issues pertinent to your discussion - such as the sanctity of marriage as a union between one man and one woman, that abortion is always wrong, or with regard to contraception?

It is your friend who is making these claims without any references, as far as I can see. The burden of proof lies squarely with them. I would not entertain any further discussion unless and until your friend can clarify their statements.